Refinancing in South Florida: the Treasury sets the rate. Insurance sets the loan size.

Refinancing a commercial or multifamily loan in South Florida in late 2026 is possible at sensible leverage, but the loan amount is now decided less by the rate than by two Florida costs: property insurance and the state's taxes on a new mortgage. Banks, credit unions, agency programs, debt funds and CMBS are all lending here, and every one starts with the same question: what does the insurance actually cost, and how much income is left to cover debt priced off a 10-year Treasury at 5.31%? Answer it first, with real quotes.

Where things stand, with dates

• Long rates. The 10-year Treasury was 5.31% on October 5, 2026, its highest since 2002, up about 110 basis points since January and about 80 since late May. The 5-year was 5.06%.
• Short rates. The Federal Reserve raised its target range to 3.75% to 4.00% on September 16. SOFR was 3.89% on October 5, and prime is 7.00%.
• Florida apartment insurance. Trepp data show the median insurance cost on securitized Florida multifamily properties fell 6.2% in 2025, the first decline in its six-year series, after rising 42.1% in 2023 and 7.7% in 2024 (reported August 30, 2026).
• The insurance market. Florida's regulator reported in July that 21 new residential property insurers have been approved since the reforms and that residential property insurance lawsuit filings fell 25% in 2025. Citizens, the insurer of last resort, was down to about 274,000 policies in June, from 1.4 million in late 2023.
• Miami apartments. Yardi Matrix put the average Miami asking rent at $2,526 in April, up 0.2% on a trailing three-month basis, with stabilized occupancy at 95.0% in March, down 50 basis points from a year earlier. South Florida added 13,749 apartment units in 2025, 3.5% of existing stock.
• Apartment credit. Trepp's CMBS multifamily delinquency rate rose 35 basis points in September to 8.04%, the largest monthly jump of any property type Trepp tracks. The overall rate rose 17 basis points.

Insurance is the first underwriting question

The reforms are working. A Florida law signed in December 2022 ended one-way attorney fees in property insurance suits and barred assignment of benefits on residential and commercial property policies issued on or after January 1, 2023, and a 2023 law repealed most of the remaining one-way fee statutes. Carriers came back, reinsurance got cheaper, and premiums turned down. Baldwin, a national insurance broker, reported that commercial property pricing in its book fell 8.1% in the second quarter of 2026, a fifth straight quarterly decline.

The relief is real, but it is off a much higher base. Compound Trepp's annual medians and a Florida apartment building that paid $100 for insurance in 2020 was paying roughly $204 by 2024 and roughly $191 after the 2025 decline. Lenders underwrite the bound premium, not the trend.

Then come the requirements on the policy itself. Fannie Mae's multifamily guide, for example, requires named storm coverage of at least 90% of the property's total insurable value, with a named storm deductible generally capped at 7.5% of that value (or the guide's standard deductible limit, if greater). In a flood zone starting with A or V, it requires flood insurance and, where the federal program's limit falls short, excess flood coverage. The National Flood Insurance Program tops out at $500,000 of building coverage for a multifamily or commercial building, which is a fraction of what a mid-rise costs to rebuild. Banks and debt funds set their own terms, but the shape is similar.

Here is why the premium matters. At an illustrative 6.81% fixed rate on a 30-year amortization, sized at 1.25x debt service coverage, each dollar of net operating income supports about $10.20 of loan. A renewal that comes in $50,000 above what the owner budgeted takes roughly $510,000 off the refinance. A $50,000 saving adds it back.

What a 5.3% 10-year does to DSCR sizing

Fixed-rate permanent loans price off the Treasury of matching term. Take an illustrative South Florida apartment building with $850,000 of net operating income, and assume a lender spread of 1.50 points over the 10-year, a 30-year amortization and a 1.25x coverage test. With the 10-year near 4.2%, as it was in January, the rate is about 5.7% and the building supports roughly $9.76MM of debt. With the 10-year at 5.31%, the rate is about 6.81% and the same building supports roughly $8.68MM. Same building, same income, about $1.08MM less loan.

For context, the bank permanent apartment loans we arranged in California between August 2025 and July 2026 priced from 5.40% to 6.085%, when Treasury yields were lower than they are today. A bank quote now reflects the move since then. If the coverage math does not reach your payoff, the fixes are the ones in our guide to refinancing with a low DSCR: underwrite the income a lender will accept, structure the loan around the coverage test, move to a lender whose test you pass, fill the gap with structured capital, or buy time with a bridge.

The lenders active on South Florida refinances fall into four groups. Banks and credit unions lend on their balance sheets and can underwrite a story; our $22MM Lincoln Road refinance closed with a credit union. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs remain the deepest source for stabilized apartments, with FHFA setting each agency's 2026 multifamily purchase cap at $88 billion. Debt funds carry buildings that are in lease-up or need time. CMBS still writes non-recourse loans here, but with multifamily CMBS delinquency above 8%, expect closer scrutiny; if you are exiting a conduit loan, read our CMBS guide for Miami and South Florida first.

Florida taxes the new loan. California does not.

Florida charges documentary stamp tax of 35 cents per $100 on a recorded mortgage and the debt it secures, plus a one-time nonrecurring intangible tax of 2 mills, or 0.2%, on obligations secured by Florida real estate. On a $10MM refinance, that is $35,000 of stamps plus $20,000 of intangible tax: $55,000, before title, legal, appraisal or lender fees. In California, the documentary transfer tax does not apply to an instrument given to secure a debt, so the same $10MM refinance there carries no comparable charge.

Structure can reduce the bill. When the loan is refinanced with the holder of the existing mortgage, or its assignee, and the original borrower stays liable, Florida charges the intangible tax only on the amount above the existing balance. Refinance an $8MM balance to $10MM that way and the intangible tax is $4,000, not $20,000. The documentary stamp exemption for renewals is narrower and depends on the drafting, so have Florida counsel look at it before you sign a term sheet, not at closing.

Condo safety laws reach mixed-use and condo-related assets

After Surfside, Florida required milestone structural inspections for condominium and cooperative buildings three habitable stories or taller, due by December 31 of the year the building turns 30 and every 10 years after, with an earlier 25-year trigger where local officials require it. Condo associations in those buildings also need a structural integrity reserve study at least every 10 years covering the roof, structure, fireproofing, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and windows. For associations existing in 2022, the study was due by December 31, 2025, with a combined path to no later than December 31, 2026. For budgets adopted since the end of 2024, owners generally cannot vote to waive or cut those reserves. The 2025 amendments, effective July 1, 2025, allow a limited pause in reserve contributions of up to two budget years after a milestone inspection, allow reserves to be funded with special assessments, lines of credit or loans, and add cost reporting duties in mixed-use condominiums.

This reaches commercial borrowers more often than expected. If your collateral is a retail or office condo unit inside a residential tower, a block of condo units you rent out, or a building with a condo regime, the lender will ask for the milestone report, the reserve study, the association budget and any pending special assessments. Those assessments are an expense ahead of debt service. On the residential side, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are raising their minimum condo reserve contribution from 10% to 15% of budgeted assessment income, phased in through early 2027, which affects which units buyers can finance and therefore what the units are worth.

What owners should do before the term sheet

• Start 9 to 12 months before maturity. Insurance marketing, flood determinations, condo document requests and Florida tax structuring all take time. Our 12-month maturity playbook sets out the sequence.
• Get insurance quotes first. Bring a quoted premium, the wind and flood deductibles, the total insurable value and the flood zone to the first lender call. Sizing on last year's premium wastes everyone's time.
• Run the coverage math at today's rates. Use a fixed rate built from the current 5-year or 10-year, not the rate you had last spring.
• Price the Florida taxes into your sources and uses. Budget 0.55% of the loan for stamps and intangible tax, then ask counsel whether an assignment from your current lender lowers it.
• Gather the condo file if one exists. Milestone inspection, reserve study, budget, minutes and any special assessment notices.
• Plan the calendar around storms. Carriers commonly stop binding new coverage while a storm threatens, and no lender funds without a bound policy. Leave slack in a late summer or fall closing.

Quick answers

Who are the commercial lenders in South Florida? Banks and credit unions, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily programs, debt funds and CMBS lenders. The right one depends on the asset, its insurance and your prepayment needs.

How much does it cost to refinance a commercial loan in Florida? Start with 0.55% of the new loan for state taxes: 0.35% documentary stamps and 0.2% intangible tax, or $55,000 on $10MM. Title, legal, appraisal, reports and lender fees come on top.

Can I get a multifamily loan in Miami with high insurance costs? Yes, if the building covers its debt after the real premium. A lower quote raises proceeds directly.

Do Florida's condo laws affect a commercial refinance? When the collateral is a condo unit or sits in a condo regime, yes. Expect requests for the milestone inspection, reserve study and assessment history.

If you own an apartment building or commercial property from Miami to Palm Beach with a maturity or a refinance ahead, send us the numbers. We will tell you within two business days what the market will lend, from which kind of capital, and what the insurance and tax lines need to look like. More on our Florida work is on our South Florida financing page and our multifamily financing page.

Sources. Treasury yields: Federal Reserve H.15 and FRED DGS10, October 5, 2026. SOFR: FRED SOFR, October 5, 2026. Fed decision: Federal Reserve, September 16, 2026. CMBS delinquency: Trepp via Yield PRO, October 4, 2026, and Multi-Housing News. Florida multifamily insurance costs: Trepp via CRE Daily, August 30, 2026. Florida insurance market, lawsuits, new companies and 2023 reform: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Property Insurance Stability Report, July 1, 2026. 2022 reform: Clyde & Co, March 16, 2023. Citizens: Citizens Property Insurance, June 23, 2026. Commercial property pricing: Baldwin via Business Insurance, July 29, 2026. Miami apartments: Yardi Matrix via Multi-Housing News, July 1, 2026, and Yardi Matrix, February 27, 2026. Named storm and flood requirements: Fannie Mae Multifamily Guide Section 502.02 and Section 502.03, effective September 28, 2026. NFIP limits: Congressional Research Service, March 29, 2024, and FEMA FloodSmart. Agency caps: FHFA, November 24, 2025. Florida taxes: 2026 Florida Statutes s. 201.08, s. 201.09, s. 199.133 and s. 199.145. California exemption: Revenue and Taxation Code s. 11921, per the El Dorado County Recorder, accessed October 7, 2026. Condo laws: 2026 Florida Statutes s. 553.899 and s. 718.112; Withum, August 26, 2025; Bilzin Sumberg, June 2025. Condo reserve change: Orrick, March 27, 2026. Storm binding practice: Colodny Fass, originally published August 24, 2011. The insurance index, loan sizing and tax examples are illustrative.

Rates and terms referenced are drawn from public market data, transactions arranged by Piccard Financial and recent lender quotes, reflect conditions on the dates shown, and change with the market. Nothing here is tax or legal advice, an offer or a commitment to lend. Piccard Financial is a capital markets advisory firm, not a lender.