DeSantis's Property Tax Plan: What Space Coast Buyers Need to Know This Week

What is happening with Florida property taxes in June 2026?

Governor Ron DeSantis called a special session of the Florida Legislature for June 1 to 3, 2026 to vote on a constitutional amendment that would phase out property taxes on primary residences. If the Legislature passes it this week and voters approve it in November, analysts project Florida home prices will rise 7 to 9 percent almost immediately.

If you have been on the fence about buying on the Space Coast, this week matters. The decision the Florida Legislature makes between June 1 and June 3 could move Brevard County home prices by tens of thousands of dollars before the November ballot is even printed. This is not a drill, and the math is straightforward once you walk through it.

Here is what is actually on the table, what it means for Space Coast buyers, and why the next several days are the smartest window to lock in a Brevard County home at today’s prices.

What DeSantis Is Actually Proposing

The amendment is titled “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes.” It is a phased elimination of property tax on primary residences in Florida, not an overnight repeal. Here is the schedule:

• 2027: Homestead exemption jumps from $50,000 to $150,000
• 2028: Exemption rises to $250,000
• Future: Legislature creates a schedule to push the exemption to $500,000 and eventually eliminate property tax on all primary homes

Under the proposal, a homesteaded home assessed at $250,000 or less would pay zero property tax starting in 2028. For homes valued above $250,000, only the portion above the exemption would be taxable. So a $400,000 homesteaded Palm Bay home would be taxed only on $150,000 of value, not the full $400,000.

This applies to primary residences only. Second homes, investment properties, and rentals are not covered by the homestead exemption and would continue to be taxed normally.

The Vote Timeline

There are two votes that have to happen for this to become law.

Vote 1: Florida Legislature, June 1 to 3, 2026. The amendment needs a three-fifths majority in both the House and Senate during this week’s special session. If it passes, it goes on the November 2026 ballot.

Vote 2: Florida voters, November 2026. Constitutional amendments in Florida require 60 percent voter approval to pass. If the Legislature green-lights the amendment this week, every Florida voter will weigh in on it in the general election.

The market does not wait for the November vote. Home prices move on news, not on certainty. The moment the Legislature passes the resolution, buyers will start re-pricing what they are willing to pay, and the 7 to 9 percent bump that economists have been modeling will start showing up in offers.

The 5-Year Residency Rule That Changes Everything

This is the part most people are not paying attention to, and it is the single most important detail for anyone thinking about relocating to Florida.

The amendment includes a residency requirement. Anyone who establishes Florida residency on or after January 1, 2027 has to maintain Florida residency for five years before they can claim the increased homestead exemption. The framework is designed to keep the benefit anchored to existing Florida homeowners and to slow the incentive for a mass migration wave.

What that means in plain English:

• If you close on a Brevard County home and homestead it before December 31, 2026: you qualify for the increased exemption on the regular phase-in schedule (the $150,000 exemption in 2027, $250,000 in 2028, and so on).
• If you wait until 2027 or later to move to Florida and establish residency: you pay full property tax under the existing system for five years before the enhanced exemption applies to you.

For a relocation buyer looking at a $500,000 Viera home, that is roughly $4,000 to $5,000 per year in property tax, or $20,000 to $25,000 over the five-year wait, that an existing 2026 Florida homeowner would not pay. Combine that with the projected 7 to 9 percent price bump if the amendment passes, and the cost of waiting compounds.

The window is not "buy before November." The window is "establish Florida residency before January 1, 2027." If you are relocating from California, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, or anywhere else and you were planning to make the move in the next 18 months, the math says move it up.

Why This Creates a Buying Window on the Space Coast

This is the part Brevard County buyers need to understand. Property tax in Florida averages around 0.8 to 1.0 percent of assessed value per year. On a $500,000 Space Coast home, that is roughly $4,000 to $5,000 per year in property tax that disappears for a homesteaded primary residence under the full phase-in.

That savings does not stay in the buyer’s pocket. It gets capitalized into the home’s value. Here is why:

A buyer who can afford a $2,800 monthly payment today is shopping at a certain price point. Remove $400 a month in property tax from the equation, and that same buyer can now afford a higher purchase price at the same monthly payment. Multiply that across every Florida buyer competing for the same inventory, and prices rise to absorb the new purchasing power.

Economists analyzing the proposal estimate a 7 to 9 percent immediate bump in Florida home values. For Brevard County, here is what that looks like in real dollars:

Today’s Price	Projected Price (7% bump)	Projected Price (9% bump)
$300,000	$321,000	$327,000
$400,000	$428,000	$436,000
$500,000	$535,000	$545,000
$700,000	$749,000	$763,000
$1,000,000	$1,070,000	$1,090,000

A buyer waiting until July to make an offer on a $500,000 Viera home could pay $35,000 to $45,000 more than a buyer who closes in June, assuming the Legislature passes the amendment this week. The dollar gap widens at higher price points. A $1 million Satellite Beach or Indialantic waterfront could move $70,000 to $90,000 on the same news.

What Space Coast Buyers Should Do This Week

If you are actively shopping in Brevard County, here is the playbook for the next several days:

Pre-approval ready. If you have not finalized your lender pre-approval, do it now. Sellers in Brevard County are paying attention to the same news. Strong, ready buyers will win negotiations this week.

Make decisions on homes you have already toured. If there is a Merritt Island canal-front home, a Suntree pool home, a Palm Bay new construction, or a Cocoa Beach condo you have been thinking about, this is the week to decide. The window between “Legislature passes the amendment” and “asking prices reset upward” is days, not months.

Tour aggressively. If you have been planning to schedule showings, move them up. Inventory that feels reasonably priced this week may not feel reasonably priced next week.

Lock your rate. Mortgage rates and home prices are two separate variables. The property tax amendment moves prices. Rate locks protect your monthly payment from rate movement while you close. Talk to your lender about a 45 or 60 day lock if you are writing offers this week.

What If the Amendment Does Not Pass?

This is a fair question and one buyers should think through before making a move.

The amendment needs a three-fifths legislative majority this week and 60 percent voter approval in November. Both are real hurdles. If the Legislature does not pass the resolution by June 3, the proposal effectively dies for this cycle, and there is no immediate price impact.

If the Legislature passes it but voters reject it in November, prices that rose in anticipation may settle back toward where they were before the special session. So a buyer who closes in June on a 7 percent bump and then watches the amendment fail in November may see paper losses for a window.

That said, the broader Brevard County market has been steady on demand from relocation buyers, retirees, aerospace workers near Kennedy Space Center and Patrick Space Force Base, and remote workers moving to Florida from the Northeast and California. Even without the amendment, Space Coast home values have been trending up year over year. The amendment is an accelerator, not the only driver.

The Long-Term Question for Brevard County

There is a real debate among economists about whether eliminating property taxes ultimately makes Florida housing more affordable or less affordable.

The argument for: lower property taxes reduce the monthly carrying cost of owning a home, which is meaningful for retirees on fixed incomes and first-time buyers stretching their budgets.

The argument against: if the savings get capitalized into higher purchase prices (the 7 to 9 percent bump), first-time buyers who are not already in the market end up paying more upfront for the same home. The benefit accrues to current homeowners, not future ones.

For a buyer thinking about Brevard County right now, the takeaway is simple. If you plan to buy in the next 12 to 24 months anyway, the timing of your purchase relative to this amendment matters more than your view of the policy itself. Buying before the price reset is mechanically better than buying after.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to be a Florida resident already to get the property tax benefit?

Effectively yes if you want it without a long wait. The amendment includes a five-year residency requirement for anyone who establishes Florida residency on or after January 1, 2027. If you close on a Brevard County home and homestead it before December 31, 2026, you qualify for the phase-in schedule starting in 2027. If you move to Florida in 2027 or later, you pay full property tax for five years before the enhanced exemption applies to you.

Will the property tax amendment apply to my investment property in Brevard County?

No. The “Save Our Homes” proposal targets the homestead exemption, which applies only to primary residences in Florida. Investment properties, second homes, and rentals would continue to be taxed under the existing system. If anything, some analysts expect non-homesteaded properties to bear a larger share of the local tax burden if homestead taxes are eliminated.

How does this affect property taxes in Cocoa Beach, Indialantic, or other Brevard County beach towns?

The amendment applies statewide, so every city in Brevard County including Cocoa Beach, Indialantic, Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, and Melbourne Beach would be affected the same way. Owners of homesteaded primary residences in these towns would see their property tax bills shrink under the phased schedule. Owners of vacation rentals and second homes in these areas would not.

Should I wait until after the November vote to buy on the Space Coast?

Waiting means you may pay 7 to 9 percent more if the amendment passes. The market typically prices in major policy changes when they look likely, not when they are finalized. If the Legislature passes the resolution this week, sellers and listing agents will start adjusting expectations almost immediately. Buying before that adjustment is generally the smarter financial move if you were already planning to purchase.

The Bottom Line for Space Coast Buyers

The Florida Legislature is voting this week on a constitutional amendment that could move Brevard County home prices by tens of thousands of dollars almost overnight. If you have been thinking about buying on the Space Coast, the smartest thing you can do in the next several days is talk to your agent, get your pre-approval finalized, and make decisions on homes you have already seen.

Tax policy keeps shifting, but a few rules affect Space Coast owners right now. Investors and second-home buyers should understand the 10% non-homestead property tax cap, while many residents overlook extra property tax exemptions for seniors, veterans, and widows.

My partner Nichole and I got your back. If you want to talk through what this means for your specific situation, your price range, or a home you have been watching, reach out anytime at (321) 212-7676 or www.livingspacecoast.com.

Sources: Florida Governor’s Office press release, Fox Business coverage of the phased plan, WLRN analysis of price impact projections.