The Cheapest and the Most Expensive Towns in Florida
Category: Retirement Real Estate
February 8, 2023 — Florida might not appeal to everyone, but it sure does attract more retirees than just about anywhere else in the USA. Its huge coastline, countless lakes, lack of a state income tax, and warm winter climate are magnets for overtaxed retirees with a hankering to get away for the winter (or all year round).
The cheapest and most expensive towns in Florida
For purposes of this article we used data from the National Association of Realtors®, which reports on 19 Florida markets. To generalize about Florida, the further one goes south, and the closer to the coast, the more expensive it gets. Naples and Miami hold an overwhelming lead when it comes to costly places for retirement real estate.
Florida’s west coast garnered 3 of the top spots (Naples, Sarasota, and Tampa) when it comes to pricey real estate markets. Overall, the Naples/Marco Island Metro was number one at $770,000 in 2023’s 3rd quarter, followed by Miami/Fort Lauderdale at $602,00. In Sarasota/Bradenton the median sales price of existing single family homes was $515,000 in last year’s 3rd quarter. When it comes to less expensive towns, they tend to be in the north and more inland. The Ocala Metro was the champion for lowest cost housing with a median sales price of $286,000.
The list – from priciest to least expensive (3rd Qtr. 2023)
- Naples, Marco Island, $770,000
- Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach $602,000
- Sarasota, Bradenton $515,000
- Orlando $436,000
- Tampa, St. Pete $415,000
- Port St. Lucie $414,000
- Fort Walton Beach, Destin $407,000
- Cape Coral, Ft. Myers $405,000
- Jacksonville $390,000
- Punta Gorda $374,000
- Sebastian, Vero Beach $373,000
- Melbourne. Titusville $ 365,000
- Panama City $367,000
- Tallahassee $362,000
- Gainesville $360,000
- Daytona Beach $357,000
- Lakeland, Winter Haven $335,000
- Pensacola $325,000
- Ocala $286,000
To see reviews of all of these Metros go to our Florida Directory.
Variations within markets
Metro Markets are by definition very big. It is possible that you can find towns and communities that either offer much lower prices than the rest of that market, or are considerably higher. But in general, if a Metro’s real estate is expensive in one part, it will tend to be that way throughout. What is interesting on this list is, after you get through the most expensive 3 markets, all the other ones are quite similar. The only exception being Ocala, the least costly of all Florida Metros.
Use Community Explorer to find your dream community
The Topretirements.com database for Florida communities has 885 fun and interesting and fun communities to retire in. You can use our Community Explorer feature to find and sort them Lifestyle, Amenity, Unit Type, and Town. One of them is sure to be right for you.
Comments? Does your experience with local real estate in Florida agree with these figures? Speaking from our personal experience, it does. In Naples, Miami, and Monroe County (FL Keys) it has been a sellers market for several years now. As soon as something comes on the market, there is an all cash buyer ready to snap it up. Up in Tallahassee, the market is solid but not so crazy. Please share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
Comments on "The Cheapest and the Most Expensive Towns in Florida"
Brad says:
That's the cost of homes. The Insurance costs are astronomical and the Real Estate taxes.
Saw a documentary on thise hidden costs while on vacation on anna marie island!lol
Admin says:
Good point. Along the coasts, in particular, the insurance costs have been going up at unbelievable rates. There are some things you can do to try to control those costs, like installing wind resistant windows and not being in a flood zone. Higher quality buildings get lower rates. Inland the rates aren't as bad. When it comes to real estate taxes, FL's Save our Homes law caps real estate tax increases to 3% or the CPI (rate of inflation) for people who are homesteaded (you can do that if you are a FL resident). We find our FL real estate taxes to be a fraction of what they were in CT.
Toni says:
We are in Fort Myers, FL. Yes, home insurance costs have risen but we live 25 miles inland from the beaches and Sanibel Island which helps a lot as far as cost and we are NOT in a high-risk flood zone so flood insurance is still reasonable. Real estate taxes are low considering we had a home built 13 years ago, it has more than doubled in value and our real estate taxes have gone up a very small percentage in all those years and we do have homestead exemption because we live here full time. Brad mentions insurance cost is "astronomical" but that is misleading unless you are referring to homes on the low-lying coasts of Florida or someplace like Sanibel or Anne Marie Island. In those areas you are talking about very expensive homes to begin with....
Cindy says:
How about sinkhole insurance - is that still a thing.
Toni says:
Yes, sinkhole coverage is available. We have it and it is very inexpensive. We are not in an area of FL where they are common so could not tell you coverage in other parts of the state where they are more likely to occur.