Broward County, Florida: A Local Guide for Home Buyers and Homeowners

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Broward County was carved out of Dade and Palm Beach counties in 1915 on land once written off as “unfit for human habitation.” It now covers 1,202.73 square miles, about 2 million people live here, and more than 300 miles of navigable inland waterways run through it, with the Intracoastal as the main route and about 24 miles of Atlantic coastline on the east edge.

This is the Broward rundown we give buyers and homeowners before they start: which cities the county’s purchase money covers and where city programs take over, how homestead filing works at the Property Appraiser, what Wilma and the 2023 Fort Lauderdale flood taught us about insurance, and the calls to make after you move in.

Every source for this guide is listed at the bottom of the page.

County seatFort Lauderdale
Founded1915
PopulationAbout 2 million
Land area1,202.73 sq mi
Named forGov. Napoleon B. Broward
FHA limit, 1 unit$667,000 in 2026
Conventional limit, 1 unit$832,750 in 2026
School districtBroward County Public Schools

Cities and areas
Homes and loan limits
Down payment help
Property taxes
Storms and insurance
Jobs, schools, commute
Parks and local favorites
Moving checklist
Buying or refinancing

Cities and towns across Broward

Broward has 31 incorporated municipalities, from Deerfield Beach and Parkland in the north to Hallandale Beach, West Park and Miramar in the south, plus pockets of unincorporated Broward in between, such as Broadview Park and Franklin Park. Which one a home sits in matters for your down payment, because the county’s purchase assistance program covers some cities and not others.

The county is named for Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, Florida’s governor from 1905 to 1909. When Port Everglades was dedicated in 1928, nearly every resident of the county showed up.

Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale is the county seat and calls itself the Yachting Capital of the World. Its canals and rivers are part of the county’s 300-plus miles of navigable waterways, and the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show comes to town every fall.

Downtown, the Museum of Discovery and Science has more than 200 hands-on exhibits and a five-story IMAX 3D theater. On the beach side, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park sits at 3109 E. Sunrise Blvd., between the ocean and the Intracoastal.

Hollywood

Hollywood covers about 30 square miles, with a 2.2-mile paved Broadwalk along the beach and Young Circle ArtsPark downtown. Out west, the guitar-shaped Seminole Hard Rock Hotel tower is the landmark you can’t miss.

Pompano Beach

Pompano Beach built its Fisher Family Pier in the shape of a pompano, with a covered playground, restaurants and a parking garage. The Amp amphitheater has a roof over the seats, and the city runs its own Holiday Boat Parade on the Intracoastal each December.

Davie and Southwest Ranches

Davie has more than 1,800 acres of parks and open space and a trail network of about 187 miles. Bergeron Rodeo Grounds hosts the Southeastern Circuit Pro Rodeo Finals.

Next door, Southwest Ranches is a rural town with no sidewalks, private horse trails and wide-open land, where horseback riding is a main activity.

Sunrise

Sunrise is home to Sawgrass Mills, a one-story outlet mall of more than 2 million square feet, and Amerant Bank Arena, with about 20,000 seats, where the Florida Panthers play. Markham Park, 669 acres, sits on the edge of the Everglades.

Dania Beach

Dania Beach has a fishing pier with a bait and tackle shop on site, the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts with its ceramic art and studio glass, and Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park just south of Port Everglades.

Deerfield Beach and Lauderdale-By-The-Sea

Deerfield Beach is the county’s northernmost coastal city, with the Deerfield Beach International Fishing Pier, a 431-acre county park built around lakes, a marina and a water park, and an arboretum with more than 200 species of trees and palms.

Lauderdale-By-The-Sea has historic Anglins Pier, no high-rise towers along its main public beachfront, and near-shore reefs about 100 yards out, close enough to snorkel from the sand.

Coconut Creek

Coconut Creek has Butterfly World, a butterfly aviary, and Tradewinds Park and Stables, with horseback trails.

Homes across Broward and the county’s loan limits

Broward housing runs from canal-front streets along the Intracoastal in Fort Lauderdale, to beach towns like Lauderdale-By-The-Sea and Hollywood, to horse country in Davie and Southwest Ranches and the western cities along the Everglades edge, like Weston, Parkland and Pembroke Pines. Each city sets its own rules on top of the county’s, so the address matters as much as the house.

If you’re renting now, call or text us at 954-816-8820 and we’ll show you how a single-family or townhome payment stacks up against your rent.

HUD sets Broward’s FHA limits for the whole Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro, and FHFA sets the Conventional limit. The figures for Broward are in the table below, and HUD and FHFA reset them every January.

Loan limits in Broward County for 2026	Maximum loan
FHA, single-family home	$667,000
FHA, two-unit home	$853,900
FHA, three-unit home	$1,032,150
FHA, four-unit home	$1,282,700
Conventional, single-family home	$832,750

HUD sets the FHA limits and FHFA sets the Conventional limits for every county, and both change each January. This table refreshes itself from HUD's published figures.

Broward buyers can put down as little as FHA’s 3.5% minimum with a 580 or higher credit score. As an example, not a Broward price: on a $400,000 purchase that’s $14,000 down, and Broward’s HPA money, a city SHIP program or a statewide second can cover part or all of it. Call 888-601-8344 and we’ll run it on the property you’re looking at.

Down payment help for Broward buyers

Broward’s biggest pot of purchase money is the county’s Homebuyer Purchase Assistance program, but it covers only certain cities and unincorporated Broward. Buyers in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Lauderhill, Miramar and Tamarac aren’t on that list and should look at their city’s SHIP program instead.

Broward County Homebuyer Purchase Assistance (HPA)

The Broward Housing and Urban Planning Division runs HPA for first-time buyers, meaning no home owned in the past 3 years. The money can go toward the down payment, closing costs, principal reduction or a rate buydown, and each community has its own cap. You’ll need a homebuyer class and a participating lender, and single-family homes and townhomes qualify.

It covers Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Cooper City, Davie, Dania Beach, Hallandale Beach, Hillsboro Beach, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Lauderdale Lakes, Lazy Lake, Lighthouse Point, Margate, North Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Parkland, Pembroke Park, Plantation, Sunrise, Sea Ranch Lakes, Southwest Ranches, West Park, Weston, Wilton Manors and unincorporated Broward.

HPA pays out first-come, first-served, and a city’s share can run dry before the county adds more. Call 888-601-8344 and we’ll check with Broward Housing whether your city has money, and how much, before you sign a contract. County line: 954-357-4943.

HPA program flyer

Mortgage Credit Certificate (Housing Finance Authority of Broward County)

The Housing Finance Authority of Broward County issues the MCC, a federal tax credit on part of the mortgage interest you pay each year, so more of your paycheck stays with you. It comes with household income and purchase price limits, set higher in targeted areas.

The Authority resets those limits and decides how long the certificate program runs. Text us at 954-816-8820 with the address and we’ll check whether it sits under the price cap or in a targeted area, and what the credit does to your budget.

MCC guide

City SHIP programs

Florida Housing lists separate city SHIP offices for Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Lauderhill, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Pompano Beach, Sunrise and Tamarac. If you’re buying in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Lauderhill, Miramar or Tamarac, this is the local money to ask about.

Every one of these cities sets its own amounts and application windows. Give us the address and we’ll call that city’s housing office to see what it pays and whether it’s funded before you make an offer.

Florida Housing SHIP lookup

Florida Hometown Heroes (statewide)

Hometown Heroes comes from Florida Housing: a 30-year fixed first mortgage plus a 0% down payment and closing cost second with no monthly payment. The second is repaid when you sell, refinance or pay off the home, or stop living in it; it isn’t forgiven. One buyer, at least, has to work full time for an eligible Florida-based employer in health care, K-12 schools, first response, public safety, the courts or licensed child care, which covers a lot of people at Broward Health, Memorial and the county’s schools. Active-duty military qualify with any employer; veterans, Reserve and National Guard members qualify working full time for any Florida-based employer.

Each buyer gets Florida Housing assistance once in a lifetime, and the application goes through a participating lender or broker. Call 888-601-8344 first so it goes toward the right Broward home, and we’ll check the county’s income and price limits and whether funds are open for your loan.

Official program page

FL Assist and HFA Preferred (statewide)

FL Assist is a 0% second you don’t pay monthly; it’s due when you sell, refinance, transfer the home or move out. It rides behind a Florida Housing first mortgage: FHA, VA, USDA, or a Conventional HFA Preferred or HFA Advantage loan. With HFA Advantage PLUS, a Freddie Mac Conventional first carries a second that’s forgiven over 5 years while you keep living there.

What these seconds pay changes during the year, so text us at 954-816-8820 and we’ll tell you which one stacks best with HPA or your city’s SHIP money.

Official program page

FHA 100% financing works on Broward purchases too: a 96.5% FHA first mortgage with a down payment assistance second behind it, so the down payment can come from the program instead of your savings. Call us before you write an offer and we’ll tell you which programs have money that week and how they stack with your loan.

Property taxes and your homestead exemption

Once a Broward home is your permanent residence, the Florida homestead exemption can cut as much as $50,000 from its taxable value: the first $25,000 off all property taxes and the rest off non-school taxes. It also starts Save Our Homes, which holds yearly increases in your assessed value to 3% or the change in CPI, whichever is lower.

Ownership on January 1 sets the tax year, and you file by March 1 of the year after you buy. You’ll need a deed in your name, a Florida driver license or ID, and a Florida voter registration or a power or water bill for the property. File online at bcpa.net or at the appraiser’s office on South Andrews Avenue.

Selling a Florida homestead to buy here? If you had one in the previous 3 tax years, file a Portability application along with your homestead application to carry some or all of your Save Our Homes savings to the new house. Most buyers with a mortgage pay taxes through escrow, so the lender pays the bill to the Broward County Tax Collector.

Broward County Property Appraiser

115 South Andrews Avenue, Room 111, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Phone: 954-357-6830

Homestead filing and property search: bcpa.net

Tax bills and payments: Broward County Tax Collector

Wilma, the 2023 Fort Lauderdale flood and your insurance

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma’s eye passed over most of Broward on October 24. Fort Lauderdale recorded 70 mph sustained winds with gusts to 99 mph, Pompano Beach hit 83 mph sustained, high-rises lost windows, and more than 3 million South Florida customers lost power.

Flooding doesn’t need a hurricane here. In 2023, a storm on April 12 dropped about 25.9 inches of rain in 24 hours on Fort Lauderdale by preliminary National Weather Service data, a potential state record, and the airport closed. HUD later sent disaster recovery money to the county for that year’s storm and flood damage.

Broward evacuates by plan, not by lettered zone. Plan A, for Category 1 and 2 storms, covers areas east of the Intracoastal Waterway plus low-lying areas. Plan B, for Category 3 and up, adds everything east of U.S. 1 (Federal Highway). Shelters open about four hours after an evacuation is ordered.

Before you make an offer on a canal home in Fort Lauderdale or a house out by the Everglades edge, look up its flood zone on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. In a high-risk zone, one starting with A or V, your FHA or VA lender will make flood insurance a condition of the loan.
Find out whether the address is east of the Intracoastal or east of U.S. 1. That tells you which evacuation plan covers it.
Wilma blew out high-rise windows here. Get your homeowners quote while you’re under contract, since roof age drives the price, and order a wind mitigation inspection to bring the premium down.
Keep the county’s hurricane guide bookmarked, and use the county’s special-needs and alert registration at broward.org/atrisk.

Jobs, schools and getting around

FAU’s South Florida Economic Report describes Broward’s economy as anchored by health care, education, aerospace and professional services, with trade, transportation and utilities as the largest employing sector. The Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance recruits in aviation and aerospace, financial services, global logistics, life sciences, manufacturing, marine industries and technology.

Port Everglades, at 1850 Eller Drive, handles cruise ships, containers and petroleum and is South Florida’s main seaport for receiving gasoline and jet fuel. It runs as a self-supporting county enterprise fund and doesn’t use local tax dollars. It holds Foreign Trade Zone #25, and Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport holds Foreign Trade Zone #241, about 1,300 acres run by the City of Fort Lauderdale.

Health care is a big employer. Broward Health, the North Broward Hospital District, runs Broward Health Medical Center, Coral Springs, Imperial Point and North. Memorial Healthcare System runs Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Memorial Regional Hospital South, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Memorial Hospital West, Memorial Hospital Miramar and Memorial Hospital Pembroke.

Schools and colleges

Public schools are run by Broward County Public Schools.

Broward College opened in 1960 as the Junior College of Broward County. Nova Southeastern University, at 3300 S. University Drive, is a private research university with seven health care colleges, including both M.D. and D.O. medical schools.

Getting around

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport carries the airline traffic. The county also has three general aviation airports: Fort Lauderdale Executive, Pompano Beach Airpark and North Perry.

On the rails, Amtrak and Brightline carry passengers, and the Florida East Coast Railway and CSX run freight through the county.

Beaches, parks and the Broward calendar

State parks on the beach

Hugh Taylor Birch bought his land in 1903 and gave it away, and it’s now the state park between the ocean and the Intracoastal, with the Terramar Visitor Center, paddling, biking and group camping. Down in Dania Beach, Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, at 6503 N. Ocean Drive, is for swimming, fishing, snorkeling, scuba, paddling and shelling.

Markham Park and the Everglades edge

Markham Park in Sunrise has the Fox Observatory and 14 miles of bike trails, and a 27-mile loop heads into the Everglades along the Conservation Levee Greenway. Broward’s county park system runs more than 50 regional parks, nature centers and natural areas, with campsites and boat slips you can book.

Davie’s green spaces

Tree Tops Park has 23 acres of restored freshwater marsh with nature trails, a boardwalk, a viewing tower and paddleboat and canoe rentals. Flamingo Gardens grows more than 3,000 rare and exotic plants around a historic 1930s home museum.

On the water

The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show comes every year in late October or early November. Each December the Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade follows a 12-mile route through Greater Fort Lauderdale, and Pompano Beach runs its own Holiday Boat Parade on the Intracoastal.

On the beach and beyond

Tortuga Music Festival takes over Fort Lauderdale Beach each April, and the Fort Lauderdale Air Show flies over the Atlantic each May. The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival comes around in February, and the Florida Renaissance Festival fills weekends at the Deerfield Beach park in February and March.

Moving to Broward: your first-month checklist

County questions: call 311 (954-831-4000) or go to broward.org.
Tag and title: the Broward County Tax Collector handles tags and titles, and you can book a visit at appointments.browardtax.org. Motor vehicle line: 954-797-8733.
Homestead: apply on bcpa.net or at 115 South Andrews Avenue by March 1 of the year after you buy, with a Florida driver license or ID and either voter registration or a utility bill at the new address.
Electric and water: ask the seller or listing agent which providers serve the address, so service is on before you move in.
Hurricane season: find the shelter list at broward.org/Shelters and the county’s preparedness guide at broward.org/hurricane.

Buying or refinancing in Broward with AAA Capital Funding

Buying a home

FHA is the loan most of our Broward buyers use, at 3.5% down, and it pairs with HPA, the MCC and the statewide programs above. We also close VA loans with no down payment for eligible veterans, Conventional loans, Hometown Heroes, FHA 100% financing and DSCR loans for rental property.

Broward is home base: our office is in Fort Lauderdale. We’ve been a licensed Florida mortgage broker since 1997, lending in all 67 Florida counties statewide, and we shop your loan across multiple wholesale lenders so you know your number before you tour a house in Plantation or a townhome in Pompano.

Refinancing the home you have

Lower your monthly payment, take cash out for a new roof or impact windows, pay off higher-interest debt, or buy out a co-owner’s share. A refinance puts the equity you’ve built in Broward to work.

Call 888-601-8344 and we’ll show the new payment, the cash you’d net and the closing costs for your Broward home on one page.

Broward questions we hear a lot

What is the FHA loan limit in Broward County?

Broward uses the limits HUD sets for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro, and the one-to-four-unit FHA figures plus the Conventional limit are in the table on this page. HUD and FHFA reset them every January, and the table follows along.

Is there down payment assistance in Broward County?

Yes. The county’s HPA program covers participating cities and unincorporated Broward, the Housing Finance Authority offers a Mortgage Credit Certificate, many cities run SHIP programs, and statewide programs like Hometown Heroes and FL Assist work here too. Funding comes and goes, so call us and we’ll check before you count on it.

I’m buying in Fort Lauderdale. Can I use the county’s HPA money?

Fort Lauderdale isn’t on the HPA list, and neither are Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Lauderhill, Miramar or Tamarac. Each of those cities has its own SHIP office listed with Florida Housing, so that’s where to look.

When do I file for homestead in Broward?

By March 1 of the year after you buy, online at bcpa.net or in person at the Property Appraiser’s office downtown. Bring your deed, a Florida driver license or ID, and a voter registration or utility bill for the address.

Do I need flood insurance in Broward?

On a federally backed loan, yes, whenever FEMA maps the home in a high-risk flood zone. Outside those zones it’s your call, but the 2023 Fort Lauderdale storm dropped about 25.9 inches of rain in a day, so get a quote either way.

City guides in Broward County: Fort Lauderdale home loans and buyer guide, Hollywood home loans and buyer guide, Miramar home loans and buyer guide.

Sources for this guide (42)

AAA Capital Funding, Inc. NMLS #374739. Jason J. Sarji, NMLS #374700. Licensed Florida mortgage broker serving Broward County and all 67 Florida counties since 1997. Equal Housing Opportunity.

You work with the same person from start to finish, in every county in Florida.

We've been closing Florida loans since 1997, in all 67 counties. If you want to know what's possible in Broward County, call 888-601-8344 or text 954-816-8820. One call, under ten minutes. No application needed to start.

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AAA Capital Funding, Inc. · NMLS #374739 · Jason J. Sarji, NMLS #374700