Using a Realtor Is Optional. Property Taxes Aren’t.

Since Florida Realtors announced its support for Amendment 3, I've watched the same accusation pop up over and over again: “Of course Realtors support it. They just want to sell more houses and make more commissions.” I'm getting pretty tired of hearing it, because it ignores both the reality of the real estate business and the much bigger problem we're trying to address: homeownership in Florida is becoming increasingly unaffordable for ordinary working families.
I've been a Realtor for 35 years. I've lived through booming markets, recessions, housing crashes and foreclosures. I've watched families build tremendous wealth through homeownership, and I've watched families lose homes they loved because financially they simply couldn't hang on anymore. I've even experienced foreclosure myself during my lifetime. So when I talk about housing affordability, I'm not talking about something I saw on television or read about in a report. I've lived it, and I've spent 35 years sitting across the table from families living it.

Reality TV Isn't Reality

Somewhere along the way, America developed a very distorted picture of what the average real estate agent's life looks like. Turn on television and you see million-dollar listings, exotic cars, designer clothes and agents supposedly making fortunes while standing beside an infinity pool. People begin believing every Realtor is Ryan Serhant.That's television. That's not the real estate industry most Realtors work in. According to the National Association of  Realtors' 2026 Member Profile, the typical individual Realtor completed only nine transaction sides during all of 2025. Think about that for a minute. Nine transactions in an entire year. More importantly, Realtors identified housing affordability as the biggest obstacle facing homebuyers. That doesn't sound like an industry celebrating unaffordable housing. It sounds like an industry dealing with the consequences of it every single day. Most Realtors are independent contractors. There is no guaranteed paycheck on Friday. There is no guaranteed commission. There is no guarantee that the customer you're working with today will ever buy or sell anything. If a transaction doesn't close, generally we don't get paid. So let's stop pretending every Realtor in Florida is some reality television millionaire sitting around hoping houses become even more expensive.

So Let's Talk About “Greedy Realtors”

Think about how ridiculous this accusation sounds when you apply the same logic to almost any other profession. Florida continues to attract families. More families mean more children attending schools. Does that make a teacher greedy because more children move into her school district? Of course not. Florida has millions of homes that eventually need roofs. Does that make a roofer greedy because roofs wear out? When your air conditioner quits in August and an HVAC technician comes to your house, is he greedy because you need air conditioning?  When your electricity goes out, is the electrician greedy because you need him? When your toilet is overflowing onto the bathroom floor, is the plumber greedy because suddenly you desperately need a plumber?

Of course not. These people provide services, and they get paid for providing those services.  So do Realtors. And here's the part that seems to get conveniently forgotten: using a Realtor is optional. Don't like Realtors? Don't hire one. Sell your house yourself. Buy your next house without representation. Nobody is going to show up at your front door and force you to hire me. Nobody is going to put a lien against your house because you decided not to use a Realtor. Nobody is going to take your home because you didn't pay a Realtor you never hired.

Now try doing that with your property taxes. Tell the government, “No thanks. I've decided not to participate this year.” See how that works out. If you don't want to pay a Realtor, don't use a Realtor. But if you don't pay your property taxes, eventually the consequences can include losing your home.  Using a Realtor is optional. Property taxes aren't.

Homeowners Are Not an Unlimited ATM

Whenever property tax relief is discussed, we immediately hear the same warnings. What about police? What about firefighters? What about EMS? What about teachers? What about government services? Those are legitimate services and legitimate concerns. I support police. I support firefighters. I support teachers. I support EMS. Nobody is suggesting that Florida suddenly stop providing essential services. But there is another legitimate question that deserves to be asked: What about the homeowner paying the bill?  Why does every conversation begin with how much government says it needs instead of how much the homeowner can reasonably afford?

Homeowners are not an unlimited ATM.Today's Florida homeowner is dealing with home prices that have risen dramatically over the last several years, insurance costs that have become a major part of the monthly housing expense, mortgage rates that have substantially increased borrowing costs and property taxes that can add hundreds of dollars to a family's monthly payment. And the new buyer entering the market can face an entirely different tax reality from the longtime homeowner selling the property. When ownership changes and properties are reassessed under Florida's property tax system, buyers can discover that the previous owner's tax bill isn't necessarily anything close to what they'll eventually pay.  That's real money coming out of a family's budget every month.

Something Has to Give

Florida absolutely needs insurance reform. I've said that repeatedly. Insurance is a massive piece of the affordability problem and we should be attacking that problem just as aggressively. We need more attainable housing. We need to look at construction costs, development costs and every other factor making housing increasingly difficult for working families to afford. And yes, we also need property tax reform. Because eventually something has to give.
You cannot continually increase the cost of owning a home and then act surprised when fewer ordinary people can afford one. At some point homeownership becomes a luxury product.

And that's what concerns me most.

I don't want Florida becoming a place where only wealthy people, corporations and investors can afford to own property while middle-class and working-class families spend their lives renting from the people who can. Think about what happens when that becomes normal. One group owns the assets. Everyone else pays them rent. The property owners accumulate appreciation, equity and generational wealth while renters spend decades helping create that wealth for somebody else. That's a very different American dream than the one generations before us were given. And that's not the Florida I want to leave our children.

Before Asking Homeowners for More, Look at the Spending

I've posted example after example of government spending that taxpayers have every right to question. Whenever examples of waste are brought up, somebody inevitably responds, “That's only a tiny percentage of the total budget.” Fine. Then find another tiny percentage. And another one. And another one.

That's how budgets work.

Families do it every day. Businesses do it every day. When expenses become too high, families sit at the kitchen table and ask what they can eliminate. Businesses look at expenses and ask where they can become more efficient.
Do we need this? Can we get it cheaper? Can this wait? Are we duplicating something? Are we paying too much? Is there a better way to accomplish the same thing? Why should government be exempt from those questions simply because government has the ability to collect taxes? Before telling homeowners that meaningful property tax relief is impossible, taxpayers deserve to know that every reasonable effort has been made to control spending and eliminate waste.

Realtors Have a Front-Row Seat to the Affordability Crisis

Florida Realtors supporting Amendment 3 doesn't prove Realtors are greedy. I would argue it demonstrates that the people working with homebuyers and sellers every day recognize what's happening. We have a front-row seat to housing affordability. We sit with the first-time buyer who thinks they can afford a $400,000 house until they see the complete monthly payment. We watch buyers discover what insurance will cost. We watch them calculate property taxes. We watch them lower their price range. We watch them give up the neighborhood they wanted. We watch them give up the extra bedroom. We watch them move farther away from work. We watch parents realize the school district they wanted isn't going to work financially. And sometimes we watch them give up on buying a home completely. Those aren't statistics to us. Those are people sitting across the table.

I'm Not Apologizing for Wanting More People to Own Homes

If somebody wants to accuse me of wanting more people to buy houses, I'll plead guilty. Absolutely.  I want the young couple currently renting an apartment to buy their first home. I want the teacher to own a home. I want the firefighter to own one. I want the police officer to own one. I want the nurse to own one. I want the electrician to own one. I want the plumber and roofer to own one. I want the restaurant worker and small business owner to have a realistic path to homeownership. I want families building equity instead of spending their entire lives building equity for somebody else. And yes, when somebody buys or sells real estate and hires a Realtor, that Realtor may earn a commission. That's our job. Teachers receive salaries for teaching. Roofers get paid for installing roofs. Electricians get paid for electrical work. Plumbers get paid when your toilet is overflowing. Doctors get paid when you're sick. Attorneys get paid when you need legal representation. There is nothing sinister about professionals getting paid for providing a service. And there is certainly nothing sinister about an industry that deals with housing every single day standing up and saying: Homeownership is becoming too expensive.

Debate Amendment 3 on the Merits

If you oppose Amendment 3, fine. Let's debate it. Debate the numbers. Debate the policy. Debate government spending. Debate property tax revenue. Debate how Florida funds essential services. Debate whether homeowners deserve additional relief. That's exactly what elections are for. But stop dismissing everyone advocating for property tax reform by saying, “They're just greedy Realtors looking for another commission.” That's not an argument. It's a distraction from the affordability issue we're trying to discuss. I've spent 35 years watching what homeownership can do for families. I've watched people build security, stability and generational wealth because they owned the roof over their heads. I've also watched what happens when families lose that security. And I've experienced some of that hardship myself. That's why I'm concerned about where we're heading. I don't want the American dream of owning a home to become something our children hear their parents and grandparents talk about but can never realistically achieve themselves. I don't want Florida to become a state where you have to be wealthy to own a piece of it.And I don't believe homeowners should be treated as the bad guys simply because they're asking government to leave a little more of their own money in their pockets.

So yes, I'm a Realtor. Yes, I support Amendment 3. And yes, I want more people to be able to afford homes. If that makes me “greedy,” then so be it. But remember one very important distinction:

Using a Realtor is optional. Property taxes aren't. Homeownership should not be reserved for the wealthy.

VOTE YES ON AMENDMENT 3 NOVEMBER 3RD