Year-round sunshine, beautiful beaches, a lively social scene, arts and culture, and a lack of state and estate taxes: the combination is unbeatable for wealthy Northerners who are sick of being bled by the latter. The “great wealth migration” to South Florida, in particular, has been in full effect for some time now, but what transplants did not expect was getting hit with sky-high (and rising) property tax bills as well as hefty condo assessments and homeowners insurance premiums.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed eliminating property taxes, which rose 47.5% from over the past five years in Florida. Fortune reported that, while the national average cost of home insurance is $2,329 per year for a $300,000 home, according to Bankrate, that escalates to $5,409 in Florida.
Redfin calls Florida “the epicenter of the housing insurance crisis,” noting that premiums continue to blow up as hurricanes and other weather-related events have worsened, causing insurers to discontinue doing business in the Sunshine State.
As a consequence of the Surfside condo collapse in 2021 that killed 98 people, condos over 30 years old have been subject to the state’s structural integrity reserve study and condo associations must set aside reserve funds for potential structural repairs and maintenance by the beginning of each year, Fortune reported. Then there are monthly HOA fees, the median monthly amount of which, Redfin reported, has increased dramatically throughout Florida compared to the rest of the country, with Miami having the highest median monthly HOA fees of any of the 43 metros Redfin analyzed.
All that said, there seems to be no deterring those who simply love the Florida weather and lifestyle — and aren’t counting on saving on taxes — from heading south.
