Can Canadians Buy Property in Florida

What Florida law allows a Canadian buyer to do

Florida puts no citizenship test on owning real estate. You sign the same contract a Floridian signs, the deed is recorded in your name at the county, and you hold the same rights to sell, renovate or leave the property to your heirs.

Three limits are worth knowing up front:

• Owning a home gives you no immigration status. You still enter as a visitor and the border officer still decides how long you stay.
• Florida's 2023 foreign ownership law (SB 264) does not target Canada. It restricts buyers domiciled in China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela near military sites and critical infrastructure. Every buyer signs an affidavit about it at closing, so expect one more form.
• No homestead exemption unless Florida is your permanent home. A Canadian who keeps their residence in Canada pays property tax at the full non-homestead rate.

How Canadians usually pay for a Florida home

Most of the Canadian purchases I see are funded one of three ways.

• Cash from Canada. Savings, investments, or a home equity line on a Canadian house. It closes fastest and avoids U.S. underwriting. The cost to watch is the currency conversion, since a bank's retail exchange rate on a few hundred thousand dollars can cost thousands more than a dedicated foreign exchange service.
• A cross-border mortgage. Some U.S. lenders with Canadian parents will use your Canadian credit history. Terms vary, so compare at least two.
• A foreign national loan. Built for buyers with no U.S. credit. Expect 30 to 40 percent down. On the state's typical condo value of $262,592 that is roughly $78,800 to $105,000 before closing costs.

If you plan to finance a condo, ask early whether the building is warrantable. Many lenders will not touch a non-warrantable building, and that narrows your options before you have seen a single unit.

Closing costs and property tax without a homestead

Florida's closing costs follow state rules, so a Canadian pays the same line items as anyone else. Deed stamps of $0.70 per $100 are usually the seller's cost (Miami-Dade uses its own rate). If you borrow, the note carries $0.35 per $100 and the intangible tax adds 0.2 percent of the loan. On a $200,000 mortgage that is $700 plus $400. The owner's title policy is a state-set rate, and whether the buyer or the seller pays it depends on county custom.

Property tax is the bigger long-term number. Without homestead you get no exemption and your assessment can rise up to 10 percent a year on non-school levies. The assessment also resets to market value when you buy, so the seller's current tax bill tells you very little about yours. Ask me or the county property appraiser to estimate the bill at your purchase price before you commit.

Amendment 3, on the November 3, 2026 ballot, would change homestead and non-homestead rules. It needs 60 percent to pass, and the outcome was not known when this page was written.

The day count and the tax forms that follow you home

This isn't legal or tax advice, and every Canadian buyer should run their own situation past a cross-border tax advisor. These are the rules that come up in almost every conversation.

• Time in the U.S. Canadians can generally visit for up to about six months a year. The 182-day figure is a border practice, and it counts every day you spend anywhere in the U.S.
• The IRS substantial presence test. It uses a weighted 183-day formula over three years. Many snowbirds trip it without realizing. Filing Form 8840 each year is how you claim a closer connection to Canada.
• Provincial health coverage. Each province sets its own limit on time away. Check yours before you plan a long winter.
• Selling later. When a foreign owner sells, the buyer withholds 15 percent of the price under FIRPTA, with reduced rates in some cases. You recover the excess by filing a U.S. return.
• Ownership structure. Holding a personal-use home in a U.S. LLC can create a tax mismatch between the two countries. Decide on individual, joint, or trust ownership with an advisor before the contract, because changing title afterward costs money.

Where Canadian budgets land on the map

The state numbers hide a wide range. Single-family homes run $396,809 statewide and condos $262,592, and the condo index fell 3.9 percent over the past year, which gives condo buyers more room to negotiate than house buyers.

On the Gulf Coast, where many Canadians already winter, typical condo values are $191,095 in Cape Coral, $216,573 in Fort Myers and $263,924 in Sarasota. Naples condos sit at $378,644. On the Atlantic side, Fort Lauderdale condos run $403,495 and Delray Beach condos $169,347. Statewide, all home values are up 18.6 percent over five years and down 0.9 percent over one.

Canadians who want a detached house with a yard tend to look at Punta Gorda ($334,685 for all homes), Venice ($380,378) and Port St. Lucie ($384,099). Further from the coast the numbers drop quickly. Polk County, between Tampa and Orlando, averages $295,509 and Marion County, around Ocala, $267,911. Those inland counties trade beach access for lower prices and, in many neighborhoods, lower flood exposure, which shows up later in the insurance quote.

Price gaps that wide usually come with gaps in building age, association fees and insurance, so a low number on a condo deserves the same scrutiny as a high one.

Buying from Canada without flying down for every step

You can do most of a Florida purchase from home.

• Get your money ready. Cash buyers need proof of funds. Financed buyers need a pre-approval from a lender that works with Canadians.
• See homes by video. I walk buyers through properties live and send the disclosures, association documents and inspection reports as we go.
• Inspect and insure during the inspection period. Book a general inspection, a wind mitigation report and, on older homes, a 4-point. Get a real insurance quote before the inspection period ends.
• Close by mail or online. Florida title companies handle mail-away closings and remote online notarization. Confirm wire instructions by phone with the title company before sending money, since wire fraud targets out-of-town buyers.

If you know your budget and the coast you prefer, a shortlist of buildings and streets that fit both is the fastest way to turn this into a real search.