Weather 
On Election Day Tuesday, a majority of Florida voters approved a sweeping property tax cut for homeowners — and the excitement from real estate heavyweights on the ground in Miami was resounding: the Sunshine State just made itself unbeatable.
Gathering at The Real Deal Miami Real Estate Forum just hours after the polls closed, developers, top brokers, homeowners and out-of-state transplants celebrated the passage of Amendment 3. Brushing off critics’ warnings of municipal service cuts, attendees framed the historic homestead expansion as a masterclass in fiscal discipline that they believe will only accelerate the nationwide exodus from high-tax states.
“It’s an optics play. It really just shows that Florida continues to pass innovative and progressive legislation that serves its constituents,” top luxury broker Dina Goldentayer told Fox News Digital. “And while other states are doing a completely different agenda, Florida’s passing such a groundbreaking tax, beneficial legislation.”
“I think that Florida voters, like all voters, want to pay less in taxes. So it made a lot of sense that it got passed,” The Real Deal founder and publisher Amir Korangy said. “I feel like Florida politicians need to do a lot of things right, but they do get some things truly, truly right. And this was one of them … The more we can cut taxes, the more money can flow back into the economy.”
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT FLORIDA’S PROPERTY TAX MEASURE AND HOW IT COULD AFFECT HOMEOWNERS
“We know what Florida real estate has done over the recent years and the continued growth,” Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s Adam Kaufman added, “but any reason to cut costs and bring costs down will push buyers further into our market and give the sellers the confidence in selling their property at a higher price.”
Attendee and voter Shana Goldwasser was “100%” bullish on the legislation fueling further population migration: “We’ve been waiting for this forever … and I think everyone else will be really excited about this … People are going to move from wherever they’re coming because [of] no property taxes.”
Passed by 62% of voters, Amendment 3 expands the homestead exemption on primary residences from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 for non-school property taxes, effectively shielding up to a quarter-million dollars of a home’s assessed value from certain local property taxes for eligible homeowners. School property taxes remain in place.
Andres Asion, broker-owner of Miami Real Estate Group, argued the expanded exemption won’t “shift very much for buyers and sellers” in the higher-end market, pointing out that an extra $100,000 in savings “isn’t going to move the needle” for someone purchasing a million-dollar property. Instead, Asion emphasized that the true victory belongs to retirees on fixed incomes, noting that for 70- and 80-year-old homeowners whose properties are grandfathered in at modest values, slashing their tax bills by “25, 30, 50%” will have a “big impact.”
Mayi de la Vega, founder and CEO of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, staked Florida’s claim as the premier destination in the country after Amendment 3’s passage, saying, “Buyers are excited about this change and I think this is going to be great for our economy … Florida continues to be unbeatable. We are the greatest state in the entire United States. So I think this is just going to continue to fuel the fire.”
“I think Florida is already unbeatable,” Goldentayer agreed. “I do believe it’s going to give another uptick to home prices. I also think that buyers who are on the fence, because there’s this deadline — which I’m still reading the bullet points of the legislation — but I believe you have to establish residency by January 1. And if not, you have a five-year residency requirement to meet. So anyone who’s on the fence that wants to take advantage of that will likely make a purchase before December 31. And that should be good for my business.”
Canadian entrepreneur and relocating buyer Alex Burns explained how suffocating tax structures outside the state — and out of the country — are driving middle-class wealth toward Florida, telling Fox News Digital that despite its natural beauty, Canada “hasn’t been the most conducive” place for small businesses or middle-class families.
Under the amendment, people who are not Florida residents by Dec. 31, 2026, must wait until their fifth year of homestead eligibility to receive the expanded exemption.
“Where we’re from, the tax situation is quite high. And what you get in return for your tax dollars has been quite limited,” Burns said. “And so, providing the opportunity for people to spend the money in a different way than just paying out taxes, I think is going to hopefully put more emphasis on the developers to be able to provide better street access, better sidewalks, better roads.”
Opponents of Amendment 3 warn that the tax cuts could force local governments to cut back on police, fire and emergency services, with the Florida Policy Institute estimating that local governments could eventually lose approximately $12 billion annually in recurring revenue. The Florida Housing Coalition has also cautioned that local governments could raise fees on non-homestead properties, including apartment complexes and single-family rentals, to make up for the billions of dollars lost.
“Safety is a safety issue. You have states that have far more taxes and far higher property taxes, and they’re not necessarily safe,” Korangy said. “You have the largest influx of capital coming to this state right now in the last five years … Using that capital in the proper way, that’s going to be the big challenge.”
“Whenever there’s something controversial passed like this, you’re going to have some good, and you’re going to have some bad that comes with it. I think most people would be an advocate of scrutinizing budgets and having budget workshops and focusing on unchecked budgets that are out there on the government side,” 1000 Group co-founder Kevin Venger said. “I think [on] safety, Florida has done an amazing job, and that’s what really attracts a lot of people on top of the taxes and everything else … This amendment has a lot of opportunity to do a lot of good.”
“The people who are not homestead owners, it’s really not going to affect them that much, in my opinion, because it’s going to stay the same. And as a matter of fact, their cap of 10% of what the property value can raise for in the assessments, it is actually going to drop to 5%,” Asion rebutted. “So I think it’s a win-win for everybody involved.”
READ MORE FROM FOX BUSINESS
