Moving from New York to Davie, Florida: The 2026 Buyer’s Guide

If you’re a New York resident weighing a move to South Florida, you’ve probably already heard the case for Florida. No state income tax. Warmer winters. A real estate market that still rewards equity. What you haven’t heard is why some NY buyers are choosing Davie over the more obvious destinations like Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, or Miami.

I’m Anthony Spitaleri, a Davie native and Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker. I returned to Davie in 2025 after thirteen years working luxury real estate in Miami Beach. The pattern in what NY transplants are searching for is consistent: they don’t want a high-rise condo, they don’t want a country club identity, they don’t want to live somewhere that feels like a corporate development. They want acreage, schools, and a real community. That’s why Davie keeps coming up.

This guide walks through what the NY-to-Davie move actually looks like in 2026, with the data, the trade-offs, and the practical mechanics.

The migration is real, and it’s accelerating

The IRS publishes annual interstate migration data based on tax returns filed. The most recent complete year (2022-2023) shows Florida gained 55,349 net new income tax filers from other states. New York lost 71,987. Florida picked up $20.6 billion in net adjusted gross income. New York lost $9.9 billion.

The income skew matters more than the headcount. Of Florida’s net new residents, 50,485 reported incomes above $200,000. More than 45 percent of Florida’s migration gain came from earners above that line. The people relocating to Florida aren’t budget retirees. They’re working-age, high-income, and they’re making the calculation that the tax savings cover a meaningful share of a Florida property purchase.

Of NYC residents who left the city, nearly 17 percent moved to Florida, more than any other state. The top NY counties of origin are Manhattan (New York County), Nassau, and Suffolk. Most go to Palm Beach County (Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Delray Beach, Boca Raton). A smaller but growing share goes to western Broward, including Davie.

[Source: IRS SOI Tax Stats Migration Data; MIAMI REALTORS® 2025 Q2 Migration Report]

What the tax math actually looks like

The tax savings are the headline most NY buyers fixate on, and they’re often calculated wrong, both too high and too low. Here are the actual numbers using 2026 New York State and New York City personal income tax brackets for a single filer, computed bracket by bracket.

Annual income tax eliminated by moving to Florida (single filer, 2026 brackets):

Annual income	NY State only (non-NYC)	NYC resident (state + city)
$100,000	~$5,054	~$8,805
$150,000	~$7,754	~$13,443
$250,000	~$13,327	~$22,892
$500,000	~$28,077	~$47,332
$1,000,000	~$57,577	~$96,212

[Source: New York State Department of Taxation and Finance 2026 tax brackets; NYC Department of Finance 2026 personal income tax schedule]

These figures are income tax only and assume single filer status. They do not include the New York high-earner supplemental tax that applies to NYAGI above $107,650, federal tax differences, deductions, credits, or the impact of married-filing-jointly versus single filing. Your actual savings will differ based on your specific situation, and a tax professional should compute your personal number before you make the move.

Property tax tells the other half of the story. Florida’s average effective property tax rate is approximately 0.80 percent. New York’s is 1.73 percent, one of the highest in the country. For a $1 million Davie home, that is roughly $8,000 per year in property tax. For a comparable Westchester property, you are looking at $17,000 or more per year. Over a 10-year hold, the property tax delta alone is $90,000+ in your favor.

The straightforward cost-of-living comparison is also lopsided in Florida’s favor. Moving from Westchester County to Broward County saves the average household approximately $9,269 per year on overall expenses, before any tax savings.

Why Davie specifically, and not Boca or Palm Beach

Most NY buyers who do their homework end up looking at three categories of South Florida destinations:

The country club coast: Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter. These are the most popular for NY buyers in the data. The trade-off is that you’re paying for the proximity to ocean and the country club lifestyle. Homes start at higher per-square-foot prices and most communities are HOA-controlled with strict architectural review.

The urban core: Miami Beach, Brickell, Edgewater. These work for buyers who want a Manhattan-like density and don’t need land. They don’t work for families wanting a backyard.

The western Broward suburbs: Davie, Weston, Cooper City, Southwest Ranches. This is where NY buyers land when they want suburban quality of life, real lot sizes, and the option to keep horses or have an actual orchard. Davie sits at the center of this group.

What makes Davie distinct:

• Equestrian zoning. Davie has maintained equestrian zoning as part of its land use plan for decades. Communities like Long Lake Ranches, Flamingo Gardens, and parts of Ivanhoe Estates were built on half-acre to multi-acre parcels specifically for horse ownership. This is rare in coastal South Florida; the only comparable area is Wellington in Palm Beach County, where the same type of property typically costs 40-60 percent more.

• Real acreage with no HOA. A significant share of Davie homes sit on lots of half an acre or more, and many older neighborhoods have no HOA at all. For NY buyers coming from Long Island or Westchester who are used to having actual land, this is a relief. Most Florida suburban development is tract housing on quarter-acre lots inside HOA-controlled communities.

• Family-focused, not transient. Davie’s median age is mid-40s and the community has multigenerational families. It’s not a snowbird destination, it’s not a retirement community, and it’s not a corporate-relocation transit zone. The neighbors stay.

• 30-45 minutes to two major airports. Davie sits between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (15-20 minutes) and Miami International (35-45 minutes depending on traffic). For NY families maintaining ties to both NYC and a national social calendar, this matters more than people anticipate.

The neighborhoods NY buyers gravitate toward

Based on the Davie communities NY transplants most often ask about:

For the equestrian or acreage buyer:

• Long Lake Ranches: gated, 240 estate homes on 1/2 to 1+ acre lots, $1.8M to $3M+. Built for the buyer who wants a guard-gated community with horse facilities allowed on most lots.
• Imagination Farms: guard-gated, 240 Spanish-Mediterranean estates on half-acre lots, $1.275M to $2.3M. Lower price point than Long Lake Ranches with similar lot sizes.
• Flamingo Gardens: open neighborhood (no HOA in most sections) with larger acreage parcels, often with citrus or equestrian use. Pricing varies widely.
• Ivanhoe Estates: established luxury neighborhood with mature trees, equestrian zoning on parts.

For the suburban family buyer (Long Island / Westchester analogue):

• Hawke’s Bluff: gated family community, well-rated school zoning, $800K to $1.4M.
• Forest Ridge: family-friendly with HOA, well-maintained, mid-$700K to $1.2M.
• Shenandoah: established neighborhood with character, popular with families.

For the lower-budget buyer who still wants Davie quality of life:

• Older sections of Davie with no HOA, smaller homes on quarter-acre lots, $500K to $750K range.

Schools, honestly

If you’re moving with children, this is usually the deciding factor. Davie is zoned to schools in the Broward County Public School District, which is rated A as a district by the Florida Department of Education.

Within Davie specifically:

• Somerset Academy Davie Charter School: A-minus Niche rating, 1,137 students. Popular with NY transplants because the charter structure is familiar.
• Falcon Cove Middle School: A-minus Niche, ranked #163 best public middle school in Florida.
• Western High School: Strong reputation, attracts families from across western Broward.

The district has multiple A and A-plus schools, and Davie’s specific school zones tend to be among the strongest in the district. For NY buyers used to the school-zoning anxiety of Westchester or Nassau, the math here is more forgiving because the floor is higher.

[Source: GreatSchools, Niche 2026 rankings, Broward County Public Schools district grade]

The insurance reality NY buyers don’t anticipate

This is the part of the move that catches most NY buyers off-guard. Florida homeowners insurance, particularly in coastal counties, costs significantly more than NY equivalents.

For Broward County in 2026, expect:

• $4,200 to $7,290/year for a typical single-family home premium
• 5 to 10 percent hurricane deductible (a percentage of dwelling coverage, not a flat dollar)
• Separate flood insurance if you’re in an A or V flood zone (often $1,500 to $4,000/year on top of homeowners)

The good news for 2026: rates are coming down. Broward County saw approximately 17 percent year-over-year rate cuts. Citizens Property Insurance implemented an average 8.7 percent statewide reduction with even larger cuts in Broward (14.1 percent) and Miami-Dade (13.9 percent). The state’s insurance market reforms are starting to work.

[Source: Citizens Property Insurance rate filings 2026; Florida Office of Insurance Regulation]

The Davie advantage here: many Davie properties sit in X flood zones (no mandatory flood insurance), and the inland location means lower wind exposure than coastal communities. I publish a free Davie Flood Zone Checker on this site where you can look up any Davie address.

The practical move-over: establishing Florida residency

Florida residency is intent plus substantive ties. There’s no waiting period. You become a Florida resident when you make Florida your permanent home and act consistently with that intent. The mechanics:

Within 30 days of moving:

• Florida driver’s license (FL Statute §322.031). Bring two proofs of FL address (utility bill, lease, mortgage statement, bank statement).
• Vehicle registration in Florida.

As soon as possible:

• Register to vote in Florida.
• File a Declaration of Domicile with the county (optional but useful evidence).
• Update your address on tax returns, financial accounts, and estate documents.
• Apply for Florida homestead exemption (filed with the Broward County Property Appraiser between January 1 and March 1 of the year after you establish residency).

The trap to avoid:

New York doesn’t let you go easily. NY uses a 183-day rule plus a permanent place of abode test to claim you as a statutory resident. If you keep your NY apartment AND spend 183 or more days in NY in a tax year, NY can still tax you as a resident even if Florida is your stated domicile. The cleanest approach is to either sell or fully lease out the NY property and document fewer than 183 days in NY.

[Source: NY Tax Law §605(b); FL Statutes §196.015 (Homestead); Florida Department of Revenue]

For a high-income relocator, this is worth coordinating with a CPA who has handled NY-to-FL transitions specifically. The CPA work pays for itself many times over against the risk of a residency audit.

Davie in 2026: the market reality

A snapshot of the Davie residential market as of May 2026:

• Single-family homes: median sale around $1.7M to $1.8M for the larger Imagination Farms/Long Lake Ranches caliber properties; broader Davie median closer to $510K-$520K across all property types
• Days on market: averaging 45-90 days for properties priced correctly
• Sale-to-list ratio: approximately 94 percent (sellers receiving 94 cents on the dollar of asking)
• Inventory: has been increasing through 2026, giving buyers more leverage than 2023-2024

Buyers from NY in particular benefit from cash position. Florida sellers respond well to cash offers or strong financing pre-approval, and a properly structured cash-equivalent offer often wins against higher-priced financed offers.

What to do next

If you’re seriously considering a NY-to-Davie move, the workflow I recommend:

1. Visit before you commit. Spend 5-7 days specifically in Davie, not generic “South Florida.” Drive through Long Lake Ranches, Imagination Farms, Hawke’s Bluff. See the schools at dismissal time. Sit at a coffee shop on Davie Road and watch the community.

2. Run the actual tax numbers with your CPA. The savings are usually larger than the online calculators suggest because they don’t account for NYC city tax, state-and-local deduction caps, or estate tax exposure.

3. Get clear on what you want from the property before looking. Acreage with horses is a different search than a gated family community. Davie has both, and they’re different conversations.

4. Engage a Davie-specific agent, not a generic South Florida agent. Davie’s neighborhood structure, flood zones, equestrian zoning, and HOA arrangements are specific enough that working with someone who covers all of South Florida means you’ll miss the nuance.

If you want to talk through your specific situation, schedule a call at /contact/ or join Davie Insiders for ongoing market updates, neighborhood guides, and Town Council recaps delivered weekly.