American waterfront houses and white lighthouse in island small town Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island in southwest Florida.
Although the typical starter home nationwide is valued at less than $200,000, there are 11 communities in Florida where you'll need more than a million to buy a starter home. Two of those areas are right here in Southwest Florida, and no - it's not Naples.
The number of cities where a starter home is worth $1 million or more has grown from 84 five years ago to 237 today. Nearly half of those are in California. Although Florida is more affordable, there are still 11 communities here where you'll need over a million dollars just to get that first home. Remember when having a million dollar home meant you were rich? It wasn't that long ago.
The typical "starter home" — defined for this analysis as being among those in the lowest third of home values in a given region — is growing increasingly out of reach for many a new Zillow® analysis finds. The most expensive? Well, that would be Jupiter Island in the Port St. Lucie, Florida metro area. The typical starter home value there is - $5,973,449. Who can afford that? Well, some of the current and former residents include sports legends Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Michael Jordan, Nick Saban, and Joe Namath.
If you want a glimpse of Jupiter Island, the video for “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere” by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett was filmed at Jupiter’s Square Grouper Tiki Bar.
Places In Florida Where A Starter Home Is Over A Million
Let's take a look at where in Florida you'll need a mil plus just to get a start. 2 of which are on the Florida Gulf Coast.
| City | State | Metro Area | Typical Starter Home Value (June 2024) |
| Jupiter Island | FL | Port St. Lucie, FL | $5,973,449 |
| Golden Beach | FL | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | $4,418,704 |
| Fisher Island | FL | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | $3,030,623 |
| Jupiter Inlet Colony | FL | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | $3,024,928 |
| Golf | FL | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | $1,902,687 |
| Boca Grande | FL | Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | $1,650,694 |
| Manalapan | FL | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | $1,532,929 |
| Anna Maria | FL | North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL | $1,517,890 |
| Gulf Stream | FL | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | $1,162,700 |
| Pinecrest | FL | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | $1,136,030 |
| Southwest Ranches | FL | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | $1,030,634 |
In Boca Grande, part of our own Cape Coral - Fort Myers metro, you'll need $1.6 million for a home on the low end. I did find a one bed, one bath condo you could get for just $765,000 on the low low end, but taking a look at listings, the lowest priced single family home I could find was $3,250,000. Island life ain't cheap.
Another community in our Southwest Florida area is Anna Maria where a typical starter home can be found for about one and a half million. Now, there's actually a way to live on this island on the cheap, if you don't mind basically living in a big shed. Checking the listings, I found there's a couple of 2 bed/1 bath "homes" for sale well under the mean, both listed for $745,000. One is 720 sq ft, the other is 492 sq ft. Not ritzy, but you'd be a resident.
Some Potential Good News
"Home buyers are battling affordability and availability today. So much so that $1 million is the norm for a starter home in hundreds of cities," said Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow. "However, it's looking more and more like there will be some good news ahead for first-time buyers. More homes are for sale, price cuts are on the rise, and buyers have a few more days to weigh their options as homes sit on the market."
Still out of reach? Well, there's always Florida Lottery scratch off tickets. Good luck!
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