Tampa, FL, October 27th, 2025 –Written by Ryan Sampson
Most landowners today are receiving offers lower than what buyers were willing to pay a couple of years ago, it’s not just the market conditions, that most landowners think will shift when the interest rates drop and the market returns—it’s also the newly imposed government rules.
Starting in late 2025, a new statewide stormwater regulation goes into effect in Florida. This law changes how developers must handle drainage, flooding, and water quality on development sites.
Here’s why that matters for your land:
1. More Land Must Be Set Aside
Under the old rules, developers only needed to dedicate a certain percentage of a property to stormwater ponds and drainage areas; roughly 20% was the rule of thumb. With the new rules, those areas now must be much bigger—often two to three times larger. That means less of your property can be turned into homes, apartments, stores, or offices. In other words, the “buildable” portion of your land just shrank.
2. Lower Density = Lower Land Value
Because more land must be left open for drainage, the total number of lots, homes, or buildings that can be built on your property goes down. Developers calculate the value of land based on what they can build on the site, not just the maximum zoning entitlements. Fewer units = less revenue potential = a lower price they can afford to pay for the land.
3. Costlier Alternatives
Developers who want to preserve density can try more expensive options—like underground vaults, retaining walls, or vertical stormwater systems. But those solutions cost substantially more than a simple pond. To a buyer, higher construction costs reduce what they can pay for the dirt upfront.
4. What This Means for Sellers
This isn’t about your land being less desirable—it’s about new laws that make development more expensive and reduce what can be built. Buyers are factoring in:
-Bigger pond areas eating into usable acreage.
-More expensive stormwater systems if they want to keep the same density.
-Higher long-term maintenance obligations tied to the new rules.
All that shows up in the offers they make you.
Bottom line:
Offers today aren’t necessarily a reflection of your land’s location or market conditions. They’re being adjusted because Florida’s new stormwater law reduces density potential and/or increases construction costs.
It’s a statewide rule every developer is now dealing with, and it directly impacts what they can afford to pay. We are seeing actively contract deals being renegotiated due to yield loss or terminating.
Please reach out if you would like to discuss (813) 417-5928 or Ryan@TheDirtDog.com.