Licensed & lending in FLORIDA
Florida's a rare buying window — mind the fine print.
Florida flipped to a buyer's market in 2026: falling prices and rising inventory make this a genuine window to buy. The catch is that insurance costs, condo special assessments, and Save-Our-Homes tax quirks can blow up a payment if a broker doesn't model them upfront. Our angle is simple — we underwrite the whole Florida payment (principal, interest, taxes, windstorm, flood, and HOA/assessment risk), not just the rate.
Why Florida gets its own checklist
Insurance and condo assessments change the whole file.
Florida is one of the eight states we're licensed in — and the one where a payment that looks fine on paper can come apart once windstorm, flood, and HOA assessment risk land on the same worksheet. We underwrite that full picture before anyone gets attached to an address.
That means milestone/SIRS status on condos, a real insurance quote for the specific flood zone, and the Save-Our-Homes tax reset called out in year one. It's the difference between shopping lenders with eyes open and discovering the fine print after you're under contract.
The market, honestly
Florida in 2026 — a negotiating year for buyers
Florida has flipped decisively to a buyer's market after years of seller dominance. The statewide median is about $394,000, down slightly year over year, with roughly 5.2 months of single-family supply and a striking 9.7–12.9 months for condos — the condo oversupply is the standout story, driven by milestone-inspection reform and the special-assessment fear it created. Buyers are negotiating seller concessions, rate buydowns, and repair credits rather than bidding over ask. Leverage exists — but insurance and condo-assessment risk are the underwriting-relevant landmines.
Where we spend the most time
Florida, market by market.
Florida is several very different buyer stories. Here's where we focus, and the local detail we make sure every buyer hears.
Tampa Bay
The highest raw transaction volume of the metros we track per recent Redfin data, with the tightest single-family inventory in the state (near seller-market conditions despite statewide softening) and strong military and relocation demand.
- Median price
- ~$385,000
- Who's buying
- Military and VA buyers at MacDill AFB (CENTCOM/SOCOM, heavy PCS turnover), first-timers priced out of Miami, remote-work relocators from the Northeast and Midwest, and investors.
Miami-Dade
The highest median price means the largest loan sizes and the biggest jumbo and self-employed opportunity — and per recent Miami Realtors data sales are growing year over year even as prices soften. It's also the epicenter of the condo-assessment and insurance story that separates a sophisticated broker from a rate-quoter.
- Median price
- ~$582,000, down slightly year over year
- Who's buying
- International and cash-adjacent buyers needing bank-statement or foreign-national programs, self-employed and complex-income professionals, condo buyers navigating post-Surfside reform, and first-timers priced into Homestead and Doral.
Jacksonville
The most affordable major Florida metro (a median well under half of Miami's), with fast-improving buyer leverage and a strong Navy anchor — a natural fit for first-timers and military, and directly cited in Hometown Heroes income examples.
- Median price
- ~$282,000, down year over year
- Who's buying
- Military and VA buyers at NAS Jacksonville and NS Mayport — one of the largest Navy hubs on the East Coast — plus first-timers and young families relocating from South Florida for affordability.
Orlando
The #1 most-searched relocation destination among out-of-state buyers in early 2026 per Redfin/Realtor.com migration data — a large incoming first-timer and relocator pipeline, anchored by theme-park/hospitality and the Lake Nona medical and tech corridor, with the Villages retiree feeder just northwest.
- Median price
- Often below the Tampa Bay metro for comparable suburban stock — we quote a live number per address rather than a stale metro average
- Who's buying
- Out-of-state relocators (the largest searched-destination segment), first-timers, hospitality and theme-park workers, Lake Nona medical and tech employees, and near-retirees eyeing Central Florida's 55+ corridor.
Down-payment & assistance
Programs worth checking your fit for.
Florida's assistance programs are generous, and several are military- or essential-worker-friendly. Some open on specific dates and can exhaust, so we confirm a program is live and funded — and confirm your fit — before we count on it. Never a promise of eligibility.
Florida Hometown Heroes
Up to 5% of the loan amount (capped at $35,000) in down-payment/closing-cost help as a 0%-interest deferred second, for a broad list of essential-service workers — not just first responders, and generally no first-time requirement. Income cap around 150% of area median; caps run county-by-county. Rounds open on specific dates with fixed funding, so timing matters.
Salute Our Soldiers Military Loan Program
Up to $35,000 in down-payment/closing-cost assistance as a 0%-interest deferred second for active military and veterans, with a PLUS variant that forgives 3–5% over five years. Available in all 67 Florida counties, with income limits generally more generous given the military targeting.
Florida Assist (FL Assist)
$7,500 as a 0%-interest deferred second with no monthly payment for 30 years, due on sale/refi/payoff — a standard pairing with an eligible Florida Housing first mortgage.
Every program above is subject to qualification and current availability — limits, funding, and windows change constantly. We never promise eligibility; we check your fit against what's actually open the week you apply.
True-payment math
The math nobody warns you about
In Florida, insurance — not property tax — is the dominant monthly-payment variable, and for condos there's a second landmine that didn't exist the same way before 2024.
Insurance: the average Florida premium is around $3,815/yr, roughly three times the national average — even though 2026 brings the first real relief since 2015 (Citizens is cutting multiperil rates ~8.8%, and private carriers are following after litigation reform). Rates are falling but still historically high, so we get a real insurance quote into your plan before locking a rate, not after. Flood is a separate line item in coastal and flood-zone areas that inland buyers can often skip.
Condos & taxes: 2026 milestone-inspection / SIRS reforms are triggering surprise special assessments of $134K–$400K per unit, and lenders are pulling back from non-compliant buildings — so we treat milestone/SIRS status as a mandatory pre-approval checklist item for any condo. On property tax, Florida has no state income tax, but buying an existing home resets its assessed value to full market value in year one (you don't inherit the seller's Save-Our-Homes cap), so your first-year tax is often higher than the seller was paying. We call it out explicitly.
Straight answers
Florida questions we get a lot.
Everyone warns me about Florida insurance. Is it really that bad?
It's high — around three times the national average — but 2026 is the first year of real relief, with Citizens and private carriers cutting rates after reform. The key is getting an actual quote for your specific address and flood zone before you lock a rate. We build it into the plan so the payment you see is the payment you get.
I'm buying a condo. What do I need to watch for?
Milestone-inspection and SIRS reform is the big one — some buildings are hitting special assessments of $134K to $400K per unit, and FHA/VA financing is pulling back from non-compliant buildings. We ask for a building's inspection and reserve status before you lock, so a great-looking unit doesn't become a five-figure surprise.
Why would my property tax be higher than what the seller pays?
Florida's Save-Our-Homes cap keeps a resident's taxable value growing slowly, but when you buy an existing home it resets to full market value in year one — you don't inherit the seller's built-up discount. It's a frequently-missed payment-shock item, and we flag it up front.
I'm military at MacDill, Mayport, or NAS Jax. What's my best path?
VA $0-down is usually your strongest lever, and Florida stacks military-specific help through Salute Our Soldiers. We'll run your BAH-to-payment math, confirm the right flood coverage for your neighborhood, and time the close to your PCS.
Fresh off the desk
Latest from the Florida desk.
Three doors, pick any
Ready to run your real Florida number?
Two minutes of questions, zero commitment, no credit pull — or skip straight to the application, or just text us like a person. Tell us the address, and we'll underwrite the whole Florida payment — windstorm, flood, and assessment risk included.
Licensed in Florida under C2 Financial Corp NMLS 135622.