If Florida eliminated property taxes, home values could jump 7–9%

What’s happening

A pricing analysis of Governor DeSantis’s pitch to eliminate property taxes on owner-occupied Florida homes finds that home values would jump roughly 7-9% almost overnight if the change took effect. The mechanism: lower carrying costs let buyers afford a larger mortgage, and that extra purchasing power gets bid into the home price.

Why this matters if you’re buying

This isn’t an academic detail. If you’re planning to buy in Florida over the next 12-18 months, the policy debate has real implications:

• If reform passes and applies broadly to primary residences, buyers acting after the change would pay materially more for the same home.
• If reform fails (or gets watered down to a smaller homestead expansion), the current tax math holds and the recent buyer leverage continues.
• For non-Florida-resident buyers (second homes, investment properties), the proposals as drafted generally would not apply — meaning your tax bill stays the same, but your competing-resident-buyers can suddenly afford more.

The takeaway isn’t to try to time it. It’s to make sure your underwriting works under today’s tax bill, and treat any reform as upside rather than a reason to stretch.

Related FAQs

• Florida property taxes explained
• Homestead exemption explained