Condos are a popular, lower-maintenance entry into the Orlando market — from downtown high-rises to resort and lakefront units. We help you find the right one and understand the HOA, fees, and financing.
Central Florida is one of the busiest new-home markets in the country — Horizon West, Lake Nona, and the growth corridors keep delivering. New construction gets you a warranty, modern efficiency, and your choice of finishes. But it comes with rules resale buyers don’t expect: the builder’s on-site agent works for the builder, incentives are usually tied to their lender, the model isn’t the base house, and many communities carry a CDD. Here’s how to buy new the smart way.
The heaviest new construction is out west in Horizon West and Winter Garden, and southeast in Lake Nona — both master-planned and still growing. Add Clermont to the west, St. Cloud and north Osceola to the south, and the Sanford / Seminole corridor to the north. Each has a different mix of builders, price points, and commutes.
Bring your own agent. The on-site agent represents the builder — that’s their job. Your own agent negotiates for you, reviews the contract, and costs you nothing extra. Register them on your first visit.
Incentives are usually tied to the builder’s lender. They can be real, but run the all-in cost against an outside loan before assuming it’s free money.
The model is not the base house. The finishes you’re walking through are options. And many of these communities carry a CDD — check the non-ad-valorem line on the tax bill before you offer.
Still get an inspection. New doesn’t mean flawless — an independent inspection on a new build is worth it, and build timelines can slip.
This is the single biggest thing buyers get wrong. Walking into a builder’s model without your own representation means the only agent in the room works for the seller. Bringing your own agent — free to you — puts someone on your side for the negotiation, the incentives, and the contract.
Buying new isn’t like buying resale. The path runs contract → design-center selections → permitting → construction → a pre-drywall walk → the final walkthrough → close. Depending on the builder and the stage you buy at, that can be anywhere from a couple of months (a finished spec home) to a year or more (a to-be-built).
Build timelines slip — weather, permitting, and supply all move dates. Don’t sell your current home or lock a rate around a promised close date without a cushion. And do your walkthroughs carefully: the pre-drywall walk is your one chance to see what’s behind the walls, and the final walk is where you build the punch list the builder fixes before closing.
New gets you a warranty, modern efficiency, and finishes you chose — and everything is under warranty when something goes wrong in year one. Resale gets you a negotiated price, established landscaping and trees, a real neighborhood, and no construction wait.
The costs people forget on the new side: the CDD many of these communities carry (an assessment on your tax bill), builder incentives that are usually tied to their lender, and the fact that the model’s finishes are options, not the base price. Weigh those against resale honestly, and bring your own agent either way.
Yes, and you should. The on-site agent works for the builder. Bring your own agent and register them on your first visit — it costs you nothing and puts someone on your side.
Sometimes. They’re usually tied to the builder’s preferred lender, so compare the all-in cost against an outside loan before assuming it’s the better deal.
Many do. A CDD is an assessment on your property-tax bill for the community’s roads and amenities — check the non-ad-valorem section before you offer.
Yes. New construction isn’t automatically flawless — an independent inspection catches issues before closing, and it’s worth doing.
Tell Lina “new construction” with your area and budget and she filters the MLS to new and to-be-built homes for you.
Tell Lina what you want in plain language and she searches the live Stellar MLS, answers questions, and lines up showings — a licensed agent closes your deal.
Ask Lina for listings with the HOA details — Mourad reads the association’s numbers before you commit.
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