Getting a Mortgage in Florida: 2026 Guide

South Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach) anchors the most active high-end market in the state, with a deep pool of jumbo and condo financing. The Tampa Bay metro (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco) and the Orlando metro have been among the fastest-growing in the country, with steady move-up and first-time buyer activity.

Northeast Florida (Jacksonville, St. Augustine), Southwest Florida (Naples, Fort Myers, Cape Coral), and the Panhandle (Pensacola, Destin) each behave as their own micro-markets with their own seasonal dynamics. The Florida Keys are unique in qualifying for the federal high-cost ceiling on agency limits.

Homeowners insurance, windstorm coverage, and flood insurance are the single biggest underwriting variable on a Florida file. Always pull a real insurance quote before locking in your monthly payment estimate, especially in coastal zones and on older properties.

For 2026, the conforming one-unit loan limit in 66 of Florida's 67 counties is $806,500, and the FHA one-unit floor is $524,225. Monroe County (the Keys) qualifies at the federal high-cost ceiling of $1,209,750 for both conforming and FHA.

South Florida and Naples carry a meaningful slice of jumbo activity above the conforming cap. Across most of the state, the floor figures apply and the typical purchase sits well inside agency limits.

Florida's effective property tax rate runs around 0.91% of market value statewide, in the middle of the national range. Florida has no state income tax, which often gets compared to higher-tax states, but the property tax line and insurance premium are the variables that actually drive Florida monthly housing costs.

Save Our Homes caps the annual assessed-value increase on a homesteaded primary residence at 3% (or CPI, whichever is lower), so a long-held home can have an assessed value materially below market price. A newly purchased home is reassessed at the purchase price; do not estimate Florida property taxes off a long-held neighbor's tax line.

Florida Housing Finance Corporation runs the dominant first-time buyer first mortgage program family. The Florida First and Salute Our Soldiers Military Loan Program pair a 30-year fixed-rate first mortgage with optional down-payment assistance for income-eligible buyers.

Florida Housing layered DPA products include the Florida Assist Second Mortgage and the Hometown Heroes Housing Program (for eligible Florida workers). Funding levels and program parameters are reviewed periodically; Hometown Heroes funding has historically run out quickly when reopened.

Florida has heavy eligible-veteran demand with concentration around NAS Pensacola, NAS Jacksonville, NAS Mayport, MacDill AFB (Tampa), Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field (Panhandle), Patrick SFB (Brevard), and the broader retirement-veteran population statewide. The 2026 VA county loan limit in every Florida county except Monroe matches the conforming baseline of $806,500; Monroe matches the high-cost ceiling.

VA funding fee on a no-down-payment first-time use is 2.15% of the loan amount; subsequent use without a down payment is 3.3%. Borrowers receiving VA disability compensation are exempt. Florida also runs a state property tax exemption for qualifying disabled veterans on their primary residence.

Florida charges a state documentary stamp tax on deeds (typically $0.70 per $100 of consideration; $0.60 per $100 in Miami-Dade) and a doc stamp plus intangible tax on the mortgage. By custom the seller pays the deed doc stamps; the buyer typically pays the mortgage doc stamps and intangible tax.

Plan for buyer-side closing costs of roughly 2.5 to 3.5% of the purchase price in Florida, plus prepaid escrows. The first year of homeowners insurance and any windstorm or flood premium are often the largest line items on a Florida closing disclosure.