TEXAS TO SOUTH FLORIDA
Moving from Houston
to Miami
Houston buyers are usually the best prepared of any group I work with on this move, because Houston has already taught you about humidity, hurricanes, flood insurance, and energy-driven markets. Most of what shocks other transplants will not shock you. Here is what will.
Income tax: no change
Texas and Florida both have no state income tax. This move does not change that line, and any agent telling you otherwise has not checked.
What it means practically is that the financial case rests on property tax, insurance, and cost of living rather than on income. Those still favor Florida on balance, but the margin is narrower than the Texas-to-Florida story usually gets told.
I am a real estate agent, not a tax advisor or attorney. Everything here is general information and figures change. Confirm your own position with a CPA before making a move based on tax.
Property tax: where the difference is real
Harris County property tax rates are among the highest in the nation, which is how Texas funds itself absent an income tax.
Florida’s statewide effective rate is roughly 0.86%, with Miami-Dade running higher but still well below Harris County. The Homestead Exemption removes $51,411 of assessed value for 2026.
The bigger structural difference is the cap. Texas limits homestead assessment increases to 10% annually. Florida’s Save Our Homes cap holds them to 3% or CPI, whichever is lower. Over a decade in an appreciating market, that difference is larger than the rate difference.
Pending: CS/HJR 1F reaches Florida voters November 3, 2026, raising the homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 with 60% approval.
Where you live now, and where you would live here
The most useful question I get asked is not about price. It is “what is the Miami version of my neighborhood.” Here is my honest answer for Houston.
Gables Estates, Coral Gables, or Indian Creek
Established wealth, large lots, discretion. Gables Estates and Indian Creek are the guard-gated waterfront equivalents; Coral Gables proper is the broader match.
Wynwood, the Design District, or Coconut Grove
Walkable, independent, restaurant-driven, with real neighborhood character. The Grove if you want trees, Wynwood if you want noise.
Pinecrest or Ponce-Davis
Wooded, spacious, family-oriented, strong schools. The most comfortable landing for a Memorial family.
Vertical and walkable, with far more residential density than Houston’s core has achieved.
South Miami or Coral Gables
Small, established, school-driven, and tightly held.
Weston or Parkland
Master-planned, family-focused, strong public schools, further from the center. Best space-per-dollar comparison.
What your money actually buys
Less square footage, more water access. That is the trade in one sentence.
Houston is one of the best value-per-square-foot major markets in America. Miami is not. A River Oaks or Memorial budget buys a smaller footprint here, and the gap widens sharply as you approach the bay or ocean.
What Miami offers in return: genuine ocean and bay access, international connectivity that Houston has in business terms but not in daily life, newer high-end building stock, and property taxes that do not climb 10% a year.
You are also trading one hurricane market for another, so unlike buyers from California you already understand what that means for insurance. Use that knowledge. Get quotes early.
The parts that are genuinely worse
Space per dollar. The main adjustment, and a significant one from Houston specifically.
Insurance. You know this drill, but South Florida windstorm and flood premiums generally exceed Houston’s. Model it before you commit.
Condo assessments. After the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida tightened structural reserve requirements. Buildings over thirty years old are facing large special assessments. The milestone inspection and reserve study are mandatory reading.
Cost of living generally. Restaurants, services, private schools, and parking all cost more here than in Houston.
Less land. Miami is hemmed in by the ocean and the Everglades. There is no equivalent to Houston’s outward sprawl, which is why prices behave differently.
The practical details
Flights
IAH and HOU both serve MIA and FLL with frequent nonstops, roughly two and a half hours. United’s IAH hub makes international connections through Houston straightforward if you keep business ties.
Time zone
One hour ahead. Negligible.
Driver’s license
Required within 30 days of establishing Florida residency.
Homestead filing
File with the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser by March 1 following occupancy. Texas homestead does not transfer.
Flood zones
You already read flood maps. Read Miami’s carefully. Elevation and flood zone designation affect insurance cost materially and vary block to block, especially on the barrier islands.
Explore these neighborhoods
Current listings, building detail, and what each area is actually like.
About Jack
Jack Mintz is a real estate agent with Compass, based at 1212 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. He grew up in Park City, Utah, played Division I lacrosse at the University of Vermont, and worked in the ski industry before moving to Miami, so the relocation conversation is one he has been through himself.
He works across Miami Beach, Brickell, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Bal Harbour, and Edgewater, with a particular focus on clients arriving from out of state.
If it is not on the market
A lot of relocation buyers arrive with a specific building or a specific block in mind and find nothing listed. That is not the end of the search. I contact owners directly on behalf of buyers to find out whether anything is available quietly. Here is how the off-market search works.
Thinking about the move?
I work with relocation clients constantly and most of what I do early on is answer questions, not show property. Happy to talk before you have decided anything.