Moving to Margate, FL

What your money buys in Margate

The city splits into two very different markets. A typical single-family home is around $439,486 and a typical condo around $121,288. By bedrooms, a 2-bedroom is near $174,402 and a 3-bedroom near $463,073, so the step from condo life to a house is close to $290,000 here.

Prices have cooled. The all-homes index is down 1.5% over the past year after rising 20.7% over five years. Condos fell 6.7% in the year and houses 0.8%. For someone moving in from out of state, that means less bidding pressure than a few years ago and more room to negotiate repairs.

The kind of housing you will find

Margate was built mostly in the 1970s and 1980s; the Census median year built is 1978. Only 43.7% of homes are detached single-family, while 35.1% of units sit in buildings with 10 or more units and 3.6% are mobile homes. That is a lot of garden-style and mid-rise condo complexes, plus villas and townhomes, mixed in with single-story concrete-block houses on canals and lakes.

Newcomers often expect new construction and find very little. Most homes have been renovated to some degree, and the age shows up in roofs, plumbing and electrical panels. Budget for an inspection that looks hard at those items.

Who lives here and how the city feels

About 59,198 people live in Margate, with a median age of 45.0 and 23.5% aged 65 or older. Seasonal homes are only 4.4% of the stock, so the city does not empty out in summer the way some coastal towns do. It is a mix of retirees in the condo communities and working households and families in the houses.

Day to day, Margate is suburban and car-dependent. State Road 7 (US 441) is the main commercial road through the city, lined with shopping centers and services. The beaches in Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale are a drive east, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International is the nearest major airport. If you want to walk to the ocean, this is the wrong city; if you want a quieter inland base at a lower price, it fits.

Pros and cons from a buyer's angle

In favor:

• Entry prices well below the Broward cities around it, apart from Tamarac and Deerfield Beach
• Plenty of 1- and 2-bedroom condos for buyers who want low upkeep
• Central location between Palm Beach County and Fort Lauderdale

Against:

• Older buildings, which means condo reserve and inspection issues and older house systems
• Very little new construction
• Prices down slightly over the past year, so short-term appreciation is not something to count on

Taxes, insurance, storms and your first-year checklist

Florida has no state income tax, which is often the reason people move. If Margate becomes your permanent home, file for homestead with the Broward County Property Appraiser; in 2026 it can take up to $51,411 off your assessed value, and later increases are capped at 3% or CPI. Remember that your assessment resets to market value at purchase, so a long-time owner's tax bill is not a good guide to yours.

Insurance is the cost newcomers underestimate most. Being inland lowers storm-surge exposure, but many Margate lots sit on canals or lakes and some fall in FEMA flood zones. Check the zone for the exact address, ask about roof age and wind mitigation features, and get real insurance quotes during the inspection period, before you are locked in.

Buyers relocating from another state tend to handle the house well and the paperwork late. In the first months after closing in Margate, a few things are worth doing in order:

• File for homestead by March 1 of the year after you move in, using your Florida driver's license and vehicle registration as proof of residence
• Switch your driver's license and register your car in Florida, which you will need for the homestead filing anyway
• Put a hurricane plan in place before June: shutters or impact glass, a generator decision, and copies of your insurance policies stored somewhere outside the house
• Learn which drainage canal or lake your street drains to, since that tells you where water goes in a heavy storm

None of this is complicated, but each item has a deadline or a season attached, and newcomers who miss the homestead date pay a full year of taxes without the exemption.

What people moving to Margate get wrong

The biggest mistake I see is comparing condo prices without comparing the buildings. A $120,000 condo with a looming special assessment can cost more over five years than a $160,000 unit in a well-funded association. Ask for the reserve study, the milestone inspection report if the building needs one, and the last year of board minutes.

The second mistake is skipping the age rules. Some Margate condo communities are 55+ and others are not, and that affects who can live with you and who can buy from you later. The third is assuming every canal connects to open water; most inland Broward canals are drainage canals, good for kayaks and fishing but not a route to the ocean.

If you tell me which side of that $290,000 gap between condo and house you are on, I can narrow Margate down to a short list quickly.