Moving to Florida from California

What your California budget buys in Florida

Florida prices vary by county more than most Californians expect. A few markers from the data:

• Statewide: all homes $375,361, single-family $396,809, condos $262,592.
• Big metros: Tampa $375,619, Orlando $372,775, Jacksonville $284,832.
• South Florida: Miami $583,705, Fort Lauderdale $509,743, Boca Raton $580,267.
• Southwest Gulf coast: Collier County $552,087, Cape Coral $334,660, Fort Myers $304,566.
• Most expensive county: Monroe (the Keys) at $962,885.

The state index is down 0.9% over the past year and up 18.6% over five years, and condos fell 3.9% in the year. Prices have been flat to soft, which gives buyers room to negotiate in many areas. I would not read that as a forecast in either direction.

Prop 13 habits and Florida's Save Our Homes

Californians already understand an assessment that resets when a home sells. Florida works in a similar spirit, with different numbers:

• Reset at purchase: your assessment starts at market value the year after you buy. Budget from your own price, never from the seller's old bill.
• Homestead exemption: for a permanent Florida residence, up to $51,411 comes off the assessed value in 2026 ($25,000 on all levies plus up to $26,411 on non-school levies).
• Save Our Homes cap: after the first homestead year, the assessed value can rise no more than 3% a year or CPI, whichever is lower.
• Non-homestead: a second home gets no exemption and a 10% annual cap on non-school levies.
• Rates are local: unlike California's 1% base rate, Florida millage is set by the county, city, school board and special districts, so two similar homes in different towns can carry very different bills.

Amendment 3, which would change homestead and non-homestead rules, is on the November 3, 2026 ballot and needs 60% to pass. The result was not known when this page was written.

CDDs are Florida's version of Mello-Roos

If you bought new construction in California, you probably paid a Mello-Roos special tax. Many newer Florida communities have a Community Development District (CDD) that works much the same way: it borrowed to build roads, water and drainage, and repays that debt through an assessment on your property tax bill for years. On top of that, most newer subdivisions have an HOA.

• Ask for the CDD's annual assessment and how many years of debt remain.
• Ask whether the debt can be paid off early.
• Add CDD, HOA and property tax together before comparing a new-build community with an older neighborhood that has none of them.

Swapping wildfire and earthquake for wind and water

California has the FAIR Plan as a fallback insurer; Florida has Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed insurer of last resort. The risks behind them differ.

• Wind: Florida policies carry a separate hurricane deductible of 2%, 5% or 10% of dwelling coverage, applied once per calendar year. On a $396,809 house insured near that value, 2% is roughly $7,900 out of pocket before coverage pays.
• Roof age: carriers look hard at it. A wind mitigation inspection that documents roof straps, shutters or impact windows can cut the wind premium.
• Older homes: expect a 4-point inspection of roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC.
• Flood: separate policy, through the NFIP or a private carrier, required by lenders in FEMA A and V zones. Earthquake coverage in California was optional for most; in much of coastal Florida, flood coverage deserves the same thought even outside the required zones.

Get insurance quotes during the inspection period, before the deposit is at risk.

Leaving California for tax purposes

Florida has no state income tax, and California taxes its residents on worldwide income. That gap is the reason many people move, and it is also why California looks closely at residency changes. Keeping a California home, a California driver's license, doctors, bank accounts or a business there can leave you exposed to a claim that you never left.

• Get a Florida driver's license and register your vehicles.
• Register to vote in your Florida county.
• File a Declaration of Domicile with the county clerk if your advisor recommends it.
• Apply for homestead with the county property appraiser by March 1 of the year after you move in.
• Keep records of where you spend your days in the transition year, such as travel bookings, card statements and phone location history, in case California asks later.

This isn't legal or tax advice. A CPA who handles California departures is worth paying before you sell the California house, especially if the sale or stock compensation falls in the move year.

Housing differences Californians notice first

• Construction: much of Florida's single-family stock is concrete block with stucco, chosen for wind. Wood-frame homes exist, especially in North Florida.
• No basements: the water table is high in most of the state, so storage is the garage and attic.
• Air conditioning runs most of the year. Budget electricity accordingly, and look at the age of the AC system as carefully as the roof.
• Condos: since the 2022 condo safety law, buildings of three or more habitable stories need milestone inspections and a Structural Integrity Reserve Study every 10 years, and reserves can no longer be waived. Fees in older towers have risen as a result.
• Closing costs: Florida charges documentary stamp tax on the deed ($0.70 per $100, usually paid by the seller), on a new mortgage note ($0.35 per $100) and intangible tax of 0.2% of the mortgage.

Picking a region if you are coming from California

Californians tend to arrive with a clear picture of the lifestyle they want, and Florida's regions sort fairly cleanly:

• Big-city condo life: Miami condos at $383,531 and Fort Lauderdale at $403,495 in Zillow's condo index.
• Metro jobs and suburbs: Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville, where the all-homes values all sit below the state's single-family figure of $396,809. Jacksonville in particular is about $90,000 under the state's typical home, and it is a large job market with a wide spread of neighborhoods, from older in-town streets to newer suburbs in surrounding counties.
• Gulf coast and boating: Cape Coral and Fort Myers price well below Collier County.
• Lower cost and more land: North and rural Central Florida, where several counties sit under $250,000.

Tell me the two or three things you will not give up, and a shortlist across two regions usually makes the choice obvious within a week of looking.