Conventional loans in Florida: conforming limit, real monthly costs, PMI timeline

A conventional loan in Florida is priced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s national rules, then shaped by local facts: a $400,000 median, property tax near 0.82%, title company closings, and a baseline conforming limit of $832,750. Here are the numbers and the rules, in that order.

The Florida conforming limit and where jumbo starts

A conventional loan is conforming when it fits Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s limit and their guidelines; in Florida that limit is $832,750 for a one-unit home in 2026. With 20% down, a purchase up to about $1,040,938 stays conforming; with 5% down, up to about $876,579. The state’s $400,000 median leaves ample room, so a typical purchase here is conforming unless the buyer is in a premium neighborhood. Every Florida county is in the table below; see conforming loan limits and jumbo loans.

County-level loan limits in Florida for 2026

FHFA sets the limit county by county. In Florida, 66 of 67 counties use the $832,750 baseline and 1 — Monroe County — carry high-cost limits, the highest being $990,150 in Monroe County. High-cost rows are in bold.

Source: FHFA, Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026 (county list, mortgages acquired in calendar year 2026). Limits are for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans; FHA and VA use their own county figures.

Down payment and monthly payment, four ways

The table assumes Florida’s $400,000 median, a 6.5% rate chosen for illustration, typical PMI pricing by down payment (your credit score moves it), and the state’s 0.82% effective property tax. Add insurance and HOA dues to get a full payment.

The 3% row assumes a program such as HomeReady or Home Possible; income limits apply. Compare with FHA at 3.5% down on the FHA vs conventional guide.

When PMI ends in Florida

Three dates matter: the month the balance hits 80% of the original price (you ask), 78% (the servicer must act) and the loan’s midpoint (cancellation regardless of value, if current). On Florida’s median with 5% down at 6.5%, the schedule reaches 80% in about 10 years and 4 months; with 3% down, about 11 years and 1 months; with 10% down, about 7 years and 11 months. Over that time the 5% buyer pays roughly $29,512 in PMI at $238 a month.

The Florida closing: costs and who runs it

Florida closings are conducted by title agents — title companies or attorneys acting as title agents — with no attorney requirement; closings are wet-funded and the closing agent records the mortgage with the county clerk. Title insurance premiums are promulgated by the state, and who pays for the owner’s policy follows county custom: the seller in most of Florida, the buyer in Miami-Dade, Broward, Sarasota and Collier counties. Attorneys are more common at closings in South Florida than elsewhere.

Florida taxes the loan itself twice: documentary stamp tax on the promissory note at $0.35 per $100 of the amount (Fla. Stat. § 201.08) and a nonrecurring intangible tax on the mortgage at 2 mills, or $0.002 per dollar (§ 199.133). On a $300,000 mortgage that is $1,050 plus $600, paid by the borrower at recording. A separate documentary stamp tax of $0.70 per $100 applies to the deed ($0.60 plus a surtax in Miami-Dade) and is customarily paid by the seller. Florida charges documentary stamp tax of $0.70 per $100 on the deed (0.7%; Miami-Dade uses $0.60 plus a surtax on non-single-family property), customarily paid by the seller, plus buyer-side doc stamps of $0.35 per $100 on the mortgage and a 0.2% intangible tax on the loan amount.

Florida buyers pay the mortgage doc stamps and intangible tax (about 0.55% of the loan) plus title and lender fees; total buyer closing costs commonly run 2% to 3%, with homeowners insurance premiums — among the highest in the nation — a large prepaid item.

Three Florida rules to read before signing

Prepayment. Fla. Stat. § 697.06 lets any note secured by a mortgage be prepaid at any time without penalty unless the note itself expressly provides for one, so a penalty must be written into the note to be enforced. Federal QM rules ban prepayment penalties on most conventional loans anyway; the Loan Estimate says yes or no on page one.

Spouses and title. Florida is a separate-property state, but Article X, Section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution bars the owner of a homestead from mortgaging or selling it without the joinder of the spouse, so a non-titled spouse must sign the mortgage on the family home or the lien is void.

Homestead. Florida’s homestead protection from creditors (Art. X, § 4) is unlimited in value and limited only in size — half an acre inside a municipality, 160 acres outside — and is why judgment creditors rarely reach a Florida home; it does not block a mortgage the owner signed, property taxes, or liens for labor and materials on the property.

The complete state layer — licensing, predatory-lending limits, disclosures, foreclosure — is on mortgage laws in Florida.

Frequently asked questions

What is the conforming loan limit in Florida for 2026?

Two tiers in Florida for 2026: the $832,750 baseline in 66 counties and higher high-cost limits in 1, up to $990,150 in Monroe County. On the state’s $400,000 median, a 20% down loan of $320,000 is well inside the baseline. Two- to four-unit homes have higher limits everywhere.

When can I cancel PMI on a conventional loan in Florida?

Under the federal Homeowners Protection Act you may request cancellation when the balance reaches 80% of the original value and the servicer must cancel automatically at 78%. On a $400,000 Florida home bought with 5% down at an illustrative 6.5%, scheduled payments reach 80% after about 10 years and 4 months and 78% after about 11 years and 3 months; extra principal or a new appraisal showing appreciation can move the date up.

Does Florida add anything to a conventional loan’s closing costs?

Florida taxes the loan itself twice: documentary stamp tax on the promissory note at $0.35 per $100 of the amount (Fla. Stat. § 201.08) and a nonrecurring intangible tax on the mortgage at 2 mills, or $0.002 per dollar (§ 199.133). Florida charges documentary stamp tax of $0.70 per $100 on the deed (0.7%; Miami-Dade uses $0.60 plus a surtax on non-single-family property), customarily paid by the seller, plus buyer-side doc stamps of $0.35 per $100 on the mortgage and a 0.2% intangible tax on the loan amount. Florida buyers pay the mortgage doc stamps and intangible tax (about 0.55% of the loan) plus title and lender fees; total buyer closing costs commonly run 2% to 3%, with homeowners insurance premiums — among the highest in the nation — a large prepaid item.

Related: Conventional loans for condos and second homes: the extra rules, Refinancing with bad credit: what is realistic below 620, 660 and 700, Mortgage rate locks: how long to lock, what extensions cost, when to float, Self-employed and buying: how conventional lenders calculate your income. First home in Florida: programs and assistance. Hub: Conventional loan.