Why did milestone repair permit values jump 47%?

Published: September 23, 2026 · Last reviewed: September 23, 2026

Direct answer: In OPPAGA's July 2026 report, the average reported value of milestone repair permits rose from $337,229 for 2024 to $496,236 for 2025, an increase of about 47%. A 3.3% rise in construction input prices over the same period is far smaller than that. By our estimate from OPPAGA's published ranges, nearly all of the increase sits in permits over $1 million, in a 2025 dataset about a third the size of 2024's and reported almost entirely by coastal jurisdictions. Deeper deterioration found during Phase 2 may be part of the explanation, but the published data cannot test it.

The headline number has travelled quickly since the report came out, and much of the early commentary has reported it as a single fact: repair costs are up by nearly half. A forensic engineer reads a number the way they read a building. What is it measuring, what moved, and what else could explain it before we settle on a cause?

Under §553.899(13), local enforcement agencies report milestone data to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), which passes it to OPPAGA. Report 26-04 analyzes the first two years of that data. For repair permits tied to Phase 2 findings, it shows:

Shares are our calculation from the value ranges OPPAGA published. Those ranges cover 633 permits for 2024 and 223 for 2025, because OPPAGA used only submissions that reported single permits. OPPAGA rounds the 2025 coastal share to 100%.

Two things stand out. First, the bottom of the range barely moved. In both years, about six in ten repair permits were for $100,000 or less. Second, the top grew. The share of permits over $1 million rose by about half.

An average is sensitive to its largest values. In a pool of roughly 220 permits, a single $10 million restoration moves the average by about $45,000 on its own. OPPAGA publishes ranges rather than individual values, so any split of the increase is an estimate. Ours placed each permit under $1 million at the midpoint of its range (and, as a check, a third of the way up it), then treated whatever remained of OPPAGA's reported average as coming from the permits over $1 million. On both assumptions, permits under $1 million contribute about the same amount to the average in both years, which leaves nearly all of the $159,000 increase in the group over $1 million.

Not on its own. The producer price index for materials and services used in nonresidential construction rose 3.3% from December 2024 to December 2025, according to the Associated General Contractors of America's analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That index measures a different mix of costs than condominium repair permits, so it is a reference point rather than a precise measure.

Applied to the 2024 average, 3.3% would add about $11,000, against an actual increase of about $159,000. Prices matter to every board's budget, but a single-digit rise in input costs cannot account for most of a 47% change in the average.

Yes, substantially. The 2025 figures come from 232 reported permit applications, about a third of 2024's 671. They are also more concentrated. OPPAGA reports that 98% of the buildings requiring a Phase 2 inspection in 2025 were in coastal jurisdictions, and Broward and Miami-Dade accounted for 463 of those 636 buildings. Those counties include many large condominium buildings. Building size could shape the distribution of permit values, but OPPAGA's data does not include the building-level detail needed to measure that.

Reporting coverage also changed. DBPR received data from 71% of local enforcement agency jurisdictions for 2024 and 64% for 2025. In 2025, 7 of 31 municipal building officials in Broward, 7 of 34 in Miami-Dade and 17 of 39 in Palm Beach County did not report. OPPAGA also notes that jurisdictions in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties often accept a single inspection that combines both phases, and DBPR asked those jurisdictions to report a Phase 2 only where repairs were required. In Broward and Miami-Dade, the county recertification program is how the milestone requirement is administered and satisfied.

None of this makes the 2025 number wrong. It means the 2024 and 2025 figures describe different sets of reported permits, so the change between them is partly a change in which buildings were counted.

Possibly, but here we move from what the data shows to what engineering experience suggests. A Phase 1 milestone inspection is a visual examination of the building, including its major structural components, with a qualitative assessment of its condition. Under §553.899(7)(b), a Phase 2 is required when substantial structural deterioration is found, and it may involve destructive or nondestructive testing. The engineer or architect then identifies the recommended repairs.

That sequence matters for cost. In reinforced concrete, cracking and spalling are often the visible sign of corrosion of the reinforcement. Where corrosion is involved, its full extent may not be clear from a visual examination, and targeted testing or selective removal of concrete is often needed to define it. Repair scopes written after that work can carry larger quantities than a visual examination alone would suggest. Repair documents often use estimated quantities because concealed conditions can differ from what the investigation found.

One possible explanation for the heavier top of the range, then, is that more buildings reaching Phase 2 needed larger repair scopes than a visual examination indicated. OPPAGA's dataset does not link a permit to the Phase 2 findings behind it, and it does not record building age, height or unit count, so the published data cannot test that explanation.

Cost per owner. A $2 million permit on a 300-unit tower and a $400,000 permit on a 24-unit building are not comparable burdens. Without building size, a statewide average says little about any one association's assessment.

Final cost. The reported figure is the value of the permit application, not necessarily the final amount paid for the work. A project may also involve more than one permit, so one permit's value is not always a building's total repair cost.

Use your own Phase 2, not the state average. The repair scope and quantities in your building's report are the relevant numbers. Ask the engineer how quantities were estimated, how much was tested or opened versus extrapolated, and what allowance covers conditions found once work begins.

Budget in ranges. A single figure invites surprise. A range with a stated contingency gives the board something it can defend to owners. Refresh older estimates before bidding. AGC separately reported an 8.9% rise in input prices for new nonresidential construction from August 2025 to August 2026.

Know the statutory clock. Section 553.899(11) requires counties and municipalities to adopt ordinances setting when repairs for substantial structural deterioration must be scheduled or commenced after a Phase 2 report. In all cases, those repairs must be commenced within 365 days after the report is received. Early scoping gives the board more of that time for design, bidding and funding decisions (what happens after a Phase 2 report).

Keep milestone repairs and the SIRS separate. A Phase 2 repair scope and a Structural Integrity Reserve Study do different jobs under different statutes, §553.899 and §718.112(2)(g). The law links them in two specific ways. A qualifying milestone inspection from the past five years may be used for the visual-inspection portion of the SIRS. An association that completes a milestone inspection may also delay a required SIRS for up to two consecutive budget years to focus on the milestone repairs. The association's attorney can advise how those provisions apply to a particular building (how the two differ).

Did milestone repair costs really go up 47%? The average reported permit value did, which is not the same as the average repair cost per building. The share of smaller permits stayed about the same, and by our estimate nearly all of the increase came from a larger share of permits over $1 million in a smaller, more coastal 2025 dataset.

Is my building's repair likely to cost $496,000? There is no way to tell from a statewide average. About six in ten reported permits were for $100,000 or less in both years. Your Phase 2 report is the basis for your building's estimate.

This article is educational and general in nature. It is not legal advice, and it is not engineering advice for any specific building. Conditions vary, and only an assessment by a licensed professional can evaluate a particular structure. Statistics are from OPPAGA Report 26-04; shares and the midpoint estimate are our calculations from the ranges OPPAGA published.

Reviewed by Gabor I. Nagy, PE — Founder

Fortis BuildSafe Solutions is a forensic engineering firm serving condominium associations, cooperatives and property owners across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. If your board has a Phase 2 report and wants to understand what is driving the repair scope before deciding what to do, we can help you establish where the building actually stands. Contact Fortis.

• OPPAGA, Milestone Inspection Reporting Data, 2024 and 2025, Report 26-04, July 2026 — https://oppaga.fl.gov/Documents/Reports/26-04.pdf (accessed September 23, 2026). Permit counts, value ranges and averages (p. 12); Phase 2 counts by county and 2025 reporting rates (pp. 10–11); reporting coverage (p. 8); combined-phase reporting instruction (p. 10).
• Florida Statutes §553.899 (2026 edition), Mandatory structural inspections for condominium and cooperative buildings — https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/553.899 (verified September 23, 2026; section history ends with ch. 2025-175).
• Florida Statutes §718.112 (2026 edition), subsection (2)(g)8–9 — https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/718.112 (verified September 23, 2026).
• Associated General Contractors of America, "Double-digit increases in aluminum, steel and copper costs drive up producer price indexes for construction materials and equipment in 2025," January 30, 2026 — https://www.agc.org/news/2026/01/30/double-digit-increases-aluminum-steel-and-copper-costs-drive-producer-price-indexes-construction (accessed September 23, 2026).
• Associated General Contractors of America, "Construction input costs climb 8.9% between August 2025 and August 2026 …," September 10, 2026 — https://www.agc.org/news/2026/09/10/construction-input-costs-climb-89-between-august-2025-and-august-2026-association-survey-finds-war (accessed September 23, 2026).