Fannie, Freddie and HUD still won't finance Live Local Act deals

Developers building under Florida’s Live Local Act say the program’s biggest obstacle is no longer city hall. It is Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD, which still will not reliably underwrite the deals, according to panelists at a Miami conference this week.

Why it matters

For a developer weighing a Live Local filing in Miami, entitlement is not the constraint anymore. Financing is. Speakers at the Leading Live Local 2026 conference, held September 4 at the Four Seasons Brickell and hosted by Leverage Live Local, said the government sponsored enterprises and HUD remain wary of the law’s density and height bonuses paired with its income and rent restrictions. That leaves construction lenders and equity to cover a gap the agencies were supposed to fill, which is what is actually holding units off the ground, not zoning fights.

The numbers

Statewide, 182 proposed Live Local Act projects account for roughly 55,000 units, but only about 6,000 units are currently under construction, leaving close to 49,000 units stalled between approval and groundbreaking. Tim Peterson, chief investment officer at White Oak Development, said of the agencies, “but they’re not there today. It’s difficult.” Richard Kourbage, senior managing director at PGIM, said Fannie and Freddie got burned on tax programs in other states and are underwriting Live Local’s restrictions with that same caution. Other panelists included Alejandro Arrieta of The Estate Cos., Michael Wohl of Coral Rock Development Group, Alfonso Costa Jr. of Falcone Group and Jared Frydman of JSB Capital, alongside representatives from RPM Living and Cushman & Wakefield.

What’s next

Daniel Lopez, founder of Leverage Live Local, told attendees the standoff is “starting to get more technical,” which he called a good sign that lenders are working through underwriting mechanics rather than rejecting Live Local deals outright. Until the agencies actually start clearing projects, developers say the 182-project pipeline will keep adding proposals faster than it adds construction starts, widening the gap between what has been announced and what actually gets built.