What is the average price per square foot in Florida?

If you have been thinking to become a proud owner of a condominium or a single house in Florida, USA one of the first questions that you probably come up with would be:

“How affordable this idea actually is?” or “How high of an income should I have to be able to purchase enough of square feet for a comfortable life somewhere not far from the coastline?” or even “What IS the “square foot” and what should I know about it?” The average price per square foot in Florida is definitely one of the fundamental issues to be covered. In this article, we are going to do our best to provide you with the most detailed answers to these and other questions that you might face while making such an important decision as relocating to the Sunshine State.

What is a square foot?

The term “square foot” in property business is no different from a square foot in Geometry. If you want to picture it, imagine (or draw) a square that is one foot tall and one foot wide. That is your square foot, now you know what exactly you’ll have to deal with. Now, that is an easy part, it can be harder though to imagine your house or condo in square feet because this is not how we normally picture our households. What can help you is googling several examples of houses/condos that have their square feet measured and comparing them so that you would have a better picture of how many square-feet-household you are looking for. Here are some examples.

Is the average price per square foot in Florida higher than elsewhere in the USA?

If you’d ever got yourself puzzled by this question, you’d probably found out that the State of Florida is not among one of the priciest states in the country but it is definitely above average.

No, you won’t find Florida among the most affordable US home markets, and yes, Florida represents a hot property market but hey, living a step away from paradise has never been cheap. According to GOBankingRates, Florida's median price per square foot has been rising, but that's true for all states. Florida's median price per square foot rose 40.8% from $118.18 in March 2014 to $166.55 in March 2019. Even though it continues rising, it is still 4% lower than in most states of the country. One of the reasons for such an appealing position is the very friendly tax policy of the State. There are also more factors that influence the price, our experts on the property are always there to answer more of your questions about the Florida real estate market.

Nevertheless, there is one obvious thing you have to remember: the average price for a house is always higher than the price for a condominium. How much higher?

The average price per square foot for a single house in Florida is different depending on the option of building your own house or buying/selling a house ready to live in. It costs about $110 per square foot to build a new home in Florida. However, this cost can vary widely, with a range of $60 to $150 per square foot on average. The average home in Florida is about 2,700 square feet. If you are buying a house it would generally cost about 12% more.
The average price per square foot for a condo in Florida is reasonably lower. In 2021, the median price for a townhouse or condo in the state of Florida was 252,000 U.S. dollars, up from 215,000 U.S. dollars in 2020. Townhouse and condo prices have generally increased since 2012 when the median sale price was 106,620 U.S. dollars.

Why is it important to know the price per square foot?

The price per square foot, which is generally the indicator of the value of the property, is technically only one of many important parameters when estimating the price of a house or a condominium. But it is, no question, one of the most important parameters. If not for the square-foot price it would have been almost impossible to estimate different properties because there are no identical households exist.

There is one more important thing to remember about the price per square foot: it constantly changes. It varies depending on the season, consumer demand, geographic attractiveness of the particular area, and overall political and economical situation in the country. So, if you are following the alterations of the square-foot price in the area you are planning to buy/sell the property, you are able to catch the best offer in the market.

Is a square-foot price a unique parameter for both house and condo estimates?

For any household, the price per square foot is technically the general price of the property divided by the square footage. But houses are estimated in quite a different way from condominiums so the price per square foot is different too.

How is a square-foot price for a single house calculated? This calculation is based on the general formula for the square-foot price but, what’s very important to remember, some parts of the house like the basement, an attic, and a patio are not considered to be 100% living areas of the house. There is also a front yard or a backyard (or both). A certain index is applied to these territories while calculating the price per square foot. You can try to apply a Price Per Square Foot Calculator or consult an expert.
How is a square-foot price for a condo calculated? That is a slightly different story due to the lack of such features as an attic or terrace. But here the price per square foot can be influenced by the location of the condominium, nearby amenities, or access to socially significant facilities. We would not recommend trusting completely your own calculations, so it is good to consult an expert.

If you’ve got yourself involved in such a not-at-all-easy matter as buying/selling a real estate item and/or choosing Florida to be your new home, you will definitely be facing more and more questions. This can feel overwhelming at times. But you shouldn’t think of it as something impossible. There are always people to help, consult and support you. Just like our crew at MyReProperty - we are always there for you!