Florida still sells the dream of year-round sunshine, but that doesn’t mean every zip code is a smart springboard into homeownership. To separate true starter-home markets from money-pits, housing analysts created the First Time Buyer Score (FTBS). The score blends price trends, property taxes, safety, walkability, transit, vibrancy, and more. A perfect 100 means a town rolls out the welcome mat for newcomers; a zero means the numbers and day-to-day realities don’t add up. Every place in this countdown earned a flat 0.00.
22. Placida – Limited Starter-Home Supply
Placida hugs the Cape Haze peninsula in Charlotte County, wedged between Gasparilla Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. Waterfront lots dominate the landscape, and tarpon fishing tournaments draw seasonal money that keeps prices lofty—typical home values hover around $517 k as of May 2025. Factor in Charlotte County’s 0.90 % average effective property tax rate and a flood-insurance premium that can rival a monthly mortgage payment, and entry-level buyers quickly hit a wall.
The setting is undeniably pretty, but services are thin: the lone grocery sits eight miles away in Rotonda West, and public transit doesn’t exist. Retirees and second-home owners love the quiet marinas; first-timers, meanwhile, face long drives for school, work, and affordable shopping options.
Placida – FTBS 0.00
- Overall First Time Buyer Friendliness Score: 0.00
- Family Friendliness: 62.43
- Walkability: 3.66
- Transit-Friendliness: 0.00
- Vibrancy: 23.83
- Car-Friendliness: 47.23
- Urbanity: 52.39
All the numbers above underline Placida’s challenges for newcomers. A walkability score below 4 and zero transit mean every errand requires a car, while modest vibrancy signals few cafés or community events. Even the respectable family-friendliness rating can’t offset those gaps, leaving the town with a rock-bottom FTBS.
21. Okahumpka – Car-Centric Crossroads
Okahumpka sits just south of Leesburg where U.S. 27 meets the Florida Turnpike, technically in Lake County but culturally tied to bedroom-community sprawl. Its small-town charm masks a median home value near $327 k, a stretch for buyers who also shoulder Lake County’s 0.81 % property tax. Local jobs are scarce, so residents often commute 40 minutes to Orlando warehousing or healthcare corridors.
Aside from one century-old post office and a scattering of citrus groves, amenities are limited—no supermarket, no pharmacy, and certainly no bus line. For commuters willing to drive everywhere, that may not matter; for first-time buyers budgeting for fuel, tolls, and insurance, it certainly does.
Okahumpka – FTBS 0.00
- Overall First Time Buyer Friendliness Score: 0.00
- Family Friendliness: 44.55
- Walkability: 12.90
- Transit-Friendliness: 0.00
- Vibrancy: 20.76
- Car-Friendliness: 73.02
- Urbanity: 34.06
A respectable car-friendliness rating hides the flipside: dependence on a vehicle for everything. With walkability stuck in the teens and zero transit, transportation costs swell household budgets. Combined with middling vibrancy and family scores, the FTBS sinks to zero.
20. Ona – High Taxes, Rural Wages
Ranchland and legacy phosphate pits define tiny Ona in Hardee County. Property values have risen to roughly $442 k—remarkable for a community without a real downtown. What stings first-timers even more is Hardee County’s 1.08 % property-tax rate, one of the higher marks in the region, applied to salaries anchored in agriculture and light industry…