Cost of Living in Broward County 2026: What Relocating Buyers Actually Pay

If you’re relocating to Broward County, here’s the direct answer before the details: buying a median single-family home here in 2026 runs around $615,000, and your real all-in monthly housing cost (mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and HOA if you have one) will typically land between $4,200 and $5,200, not the $3,200 or so a mortgage calculator alone will show you. The gap between “what the mortgage payment looks like” and “what actually leaves your account every month” is where most relocators get caught off guard, and it’s the single biggest thing I walk buyers through before they write an offer.

I work this market every day, from Davie and Cooper City new construction to resale in Plantation and Coral Springs, and the same question comes up on almost every call: “What does this actually cost me monthly, not just on paper?” This guide breaks down every piece, with real 2026 numbers by housing type, by cost category, and by corridor, so you can budget with your eyes open instead of finding out in month three.

Home Prices by Type in Broward County (2026)

Broward isn’t one price point. What you pay depends heavily on housing type and where you’re looking.

Single-family homes

The Broward County single-family median sits at $615,000 in 2026. That’s the county-wide number, but it moves a lot by city:

Coral Springs and Parkland: mid-$600Ks to low $800Ks, driven by A-rated schools and larger lot sizes
Davie and Cooper City: high $500Ks to $900Ks depending on age of home and whether it’s a new construction community or established resale neighborhood
Plantation and Sunrise: mid-$400Ks to $700Ks, a broader range because inventory spans 1970s ranch homes to newer builds
Pembroke Pines and Miramar: $500Ks to $750Ks, still one of the better value corridors for families wanting newer construction without Parkland-level pricing
Weston: consistently the premium, often $700K to $1.2M+, because of the gated communities and school reputation

Townhomes and villas

This is where a lot of relocators land who want new construction without the single-family price tag. Townhome product in communities like Marigold in Davie or Solterra Sunrise typically prices from the high $300Ks to mid $500Ks, and it comes paired with an HOA that covers exterior maintenance, which changes your monthly math in a different direction than a single-family home.

Condos

Broward’s condo market in 2026 is genuinely a buyer’s market right now, sitting at roughly 10.5 months of supply. Compare that to Miami-Dade’s condo median of $396,250 on 11.3 months of supply, and Broward is the more negotiable of the two right now. If you’re comparing a $225,000 Broward condo against a Miami-Dade unit at $396,250, the sticker price gap is real, but so is the HOA gap. Post-reserve-requirement changes have pushed monthly condo fees up significantly across South Florida, and that’s a large part of why condo inventory has been sitting longer. Don’t shop a condo on price per square foot alone. Ask for the HOA financials and the reserve study before you fall in love with the view.

The Real Monthly Cost of a Broward Home (Not Just the Mortgage)

Here’s the number nobody puts in the listing photo. When people ask me what a $615,000 house in Broward “really costs” a month, they’re thinking mortgage. That’s maybe 60% of the story here. The rest breaks down like this:

1. Property taxes

Taxes get reassessed based on your purchase price, not what the previous owner was paying. If you’re buying at today’s Broward median of $615,000, budget your tax estimate off that number, not the tax bill you see printed on the listing sheet, which often reflects a homesteaded seller who’s owned the property for years under Florida’s Save Our Homes cap. Broward’s effective rate typically lands in the 1.7% to 2% range of assessed value once you include county, city, and school district millage, though it varies by municipality. On a $615,000 purchase, that’s roughly $10,000 to $12,000 a year, or $850 to $1,000 a month, before any homestead exemption kicks in the following year.

2. Homeowners insurance

This is the one that surprises relocators most, especially anyone coming from a state without hurricane exposure. South Florida wind and flood risk means premiums here run well above what most transplants are used to. Get a real quote before you fall in love with a house, not after you’re under contract. Insurance costs vary block by block based on roof age, construction type, and distance to water, so the same budget ($615,000 purchase) can carry a $3,000 annual premium in one neighborhood and an $8,000 premium two miles away.

3. Flood insurance

This is a separate policy with a separate cost, and it depends entirely on the flood zone. Two houses three blocks apart in Davie or Plantation can carry very different flood insurance numbers depending on elevation and zone designation. Always pull the flood zone map before you commit, not after.

4. HOA and CDD fees

This is the category that changes the equation most on new construction. A resale ranch home in old Plantation might carry zero HOA. A new construction townhome in a community like Marigold will carry both an HOA and, depending on the community, a CDD fee layered on top. We’ll break that down fully below because it deserves its own section, most buyers underestimate it by a wide margin.

The mortgage is the easy number to find. The other four are what determine whether you’re still comfortable in that house in year three, not just year one.

Property Taxes in Broward County: What Relocators Get Wrong

The single biggest tax mistake I see relocating buyers make is budgeting off the seller’s current tax bill. Florida’s homestead exemption and Save Our Homes cap limit how much a homesteaded owner’s assessed value can increase each year, sometimes to 3% or less, even while market values climb faster. That means a seller who’s owned their home for a decade may be paying taxes on an assessed value far below what you’ll pay after your purchase resets it to market price.

Once you close, the county reassesses the property at (roughly) your purchase price for the next tax year. If you then file for homestead exemption as your primary residence, you’ll get an exemption reducing your taxable value, plus your own Save Our Homes protection going forward. But that first year, budget for the full reassessed number. I’ve had clients get a nasty surprise in year two when the “estimated tax” line on their closing disclosure didn’t match the actual bill that arrived, because the closing estimate used the seller’s old assessed value instead of the new purchase-price-based one.

If you’re comparing Broward to Palm Beach County (median $685,000) or Miami-Dade, the millage rates are broadly similar across the tri-county area, so the bigger driver of your tax bill is simply the purchase price, not which county you pick.

Insurance Realities: The Number That Actually Moves Your Budget

If there’s one line item that separates “affordable” from “not affordable” for a relocating family in Broward, it’s insurance, not the mortgage rate. I tell every out-of-state buyer the same thing: get quotes before you write an offer, not during your inspection period when you’re already emotionally attached to the house.

A few things that move your premium the most:

Roof age and type. A 2019 or newer roof gets you meaningfully better rates than a 2005 tile roof nearing the end of its insurable life. Many carriers won’t write a policy on a roof over 15 to 20 years old at all.
Construction type. Concrete block construction (standard in most of Broward) insures better than frame construction.
Flood zone. Zone X (minimal flood risk) is a different conversation than Zone AE. Pull the FEMA flood map for the specific address, not the neighborhood in general.
Wind mitigation features. Impact windows, hurricane straps, and a newer roof can all qualify you for wind mitigation credits that meaningfully lower premiums.

New construction has a real advantage here. Homes built to current Florida Building Code (post-2002, and especially post-Irma-era updates) with impact windows and modern roofs generally insure better than 1980s and 1990s resale stock. That’s part of why new construction communities like Hanson Preserve in Cooper City or Saltgrass at Heron Bay often pencil out closer than the price difference alone would suggest, once you factor in the insurance line.

HOA and CDD Fees: The Cost Category Relocators Underestimate

If you’re looking at new construction in Broward, you need to understand the difference between an HOA fee and a CDD fee, because they show up on your bill differently and they are not the same thing.

HOA fees

Your homeowners association fee covers community amenities: the clubhouse, the pool, landscaping of common areas, and in townhome communities often exterior building maintenance. In new construction communities across Broward, HOA fees commonly range from $150 to $450 a month depending on the amenity package. A community with a resort-style pool, gym, and full-time lifestyle director will run higher than one with just a small park and mailbox kiosk. Before you buy, get the actual HOA budget and ask what’s included versus what’s an extra assessment.

CDD fees

A Community Development District fee is different. It’s a public financing mechanism that pays back the bonds used to build the community’s infrastructure (roads, drainage, utilities) before homes were ever built. Unlike an HOA fee, a CDD fee is often collected as a line item on your property tax bill, and it can run for 15 to 30 years. Some Broward communities are financed this way, some aren’t, and it’s a real cost difference over time. We break this down house by house for Marigold’s HOA and CDD structure because it’s one of the most common questions we get on that community specifically, and it’s worth understanding before you assume “new construction” automatically means “no CDD.”

Why this matters for your monthly budget

On a $500,000 townhome with a $300 HOA and no CDD, you’re adding $3,600 a year to your housing cost beyond taxes and insurance. On a similarly priced home with both an HOA and a CDD, you could be looking at $500 to $700 a month combined. That’s a real difference in what house you can actually afford to carry, and it’s why comparing two homes by purchase price alone is incomplete. Always ask for the HOA docs and the CDD assessment schedule (if any) before you get too far into a deal.

Cost of Living by Broward Corridor: A City-by-City Look

Broward isn’t uniform, and where you land changes your monthly number more than almost any other factor.

Davie and Cooper City

This corridor has become one of the most active new construction zones in the county, anchored by communities like Marigold, whose floor plans range widely enough to fit both first move-up buyers and larger families. It’s a strong value play for buyers who want newer construction, good schools, and a shorter commute to Fort Lauderdale or Miami without Weston-level pricing.

Coral Springs and Parkland

The premium you pay here buys A-rated schools and larger, more established lots. Expect single-family pricing in the $650,000 to $850,000 range for most product, higher for newer or larger homes. Insurance and taxes track with the higher purchase price, so budget accordingly.

Pembroke Pines and Miramar

Often the best value corridor in Broward for families who want newer construction (2000s and later) without Parkland or Weston pricing. Solid schools, strong commute access via I-75 and the Turnpike, and a good mix of resale and newer product.

Plantation, Sunrise, and Tamarac

More affordable entry points, particularly for buyers focused on resale rather than new construction. Older housing stock here means insurance costs can run higher on homes with original roofs, so factor that into your comparison even when the purchase price looks lower.

Weston

The premium corridor. If Weston is on your list, budget for it honestly: it’s consistently Broward’s highest-priced submarket, and taxes and insurance scale with that.

New Construction Cost of Living: What’s Different

If you’re specifically comparing new construction options, the cost of living conversation shifts a bit. You’re generally trading a lower insurance number (newer code-compliant construction) for a higher HOA/CDD number (amenities and infrastructure financing). A few communities worth understanding on this trade-off:

Marigold in Davie: Pulte-built, a good case study for weighing HOA/CDD against long-term value in a strong Davie location.
Estates by Turnberry: larger, more premium single-family product with a different cost profile than the townhome communities.
Solterra Sunrise: a good example of how floor plan size and HOA structure interact to change your real monthly number across a single community’s product lineup.

The lesson across all of them: don’t shop new construction on base price alone. Two similarly priced homes in different communities can carry monthly costs that differ by $300 or more once HOA, CDD, and insurance are factored in.

Sample Monthly Budgets: What Three Broward Buyers Actually Pay

To make this concrete, here’s how the math plays out for three realistic 2026 buyers, assuming 20% down and a conventional rate environment. These are illustrative estimates, always run your own numbers with a lender and insurance agent before deciding.

Buyer A: $450,000 townhome, Pembroke Pines, HOA only

Mortgage (P&I): roughly $2,300
Property taxes: roughly $620/month
Homeowners insurance: roughly $250/month
HOA: $280/month
Total: around $3,450/month

Buyer B: $615,000 single-family, Davie, no HOA

Mortgage (P&I): roughly $3,150
Property taxes: roughly $850/month
Homeowners insurance: roughly $350/month
Flood (if applicable): $50 to $150/month
Total: around $4,400 to $4,500/month

Buyer C: $700,000 new construction single-family, Cooper City, HOA and CDD

Mortgage (P&I): roughly $3,580
Property taxes: roughly $950/month
Homeowners insurance: roughly $300/month
HOA: $250/month
CDD (rolled into tax bill): $200/month
Total: around $5,280/month

Notice how Buyer C and Buyer B are only $85,000 apart in purchase price, but nearly $800 apart monthly once you add the full cost stack. That’s the gap most relocators miss when they’re comparing listings side by side on Zillow.

What to Do Before You Buy in Broward County

Get a real insurance quote for the specific address, not a neighborhood estimate, before you go under contract.
Ask for the current HOA budget and reserve study, and for new construction, ask directly whether a CDD applies and what year it terms out.
Pull the flood zone determination for the exact parcel, not the general area.
Budget your property tax estimate off your purchase price, not the seller’s current bill.
Compare total monthly cost, not purchase price, when weighing two homes against each other.

If you’re relocating to Broward County and want the real numbers run for a specific home or community you’re considering, that’s the conversation I have with buyers every week. The purchase price is the easy part. Knowing what actually lands on your monthly statement is what determines whether the move works for your budget long term.

Cost of Living in Broward County 2026: What Relocating Buyers Actually Pay