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How much do you need to earn to buy a house in Miami-Dade?

Nelson Paredes · REALTOR® · One Stop Realty Center Inc

Updated October 20, 2026

$150,000 to $242,000

For the typical Miami-Dade house, at $680,000, with the government-backed loan that needs only 3.5% down (FHA), putting down just that minimum, this is what you need to earn per year before taxes: the minimum that gets you approved and the one that lets you live comfortably.

How we checked it

It is for a full payment of $6,250 a month, at the current FHA rate, 6.90% (Optimal Blue via FRED, data as of November 4, 2026). The first number is the minimum: the house takes half your income and you cannot owe anything else. The second keeps the house at 31% of what you earn, which is what FHA accepts without asking you for anything in return. The condo is further down.

Prices are the typical (median) August 2026 sale prices from MIAMI REALTORS, released September 16. Insurance is the county average from Florida's insurance regulator as of March 31, 2026. Property tax, the 2025 tables from the county office that values properties for tax purposes (the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser). The FHA loan limit and its insurance, the one the lender charges when you put little down (PMI / MIP), come from the federal housing department (HUD) for 2026; the 31% comes from the FHA handbook, and the 50% is the ceiling of the automated system of Fannie Mae (the company that buys loans from banks). Checked September 24, 2026. The rate updates itself every day.

Why it matters

Price against salary is the math everyone in Miami does, and it almost always comes up short for the same reason: people look at the mortgage (the loan payment) and forget the monthly payment is more than that.

House or condo: what each one asks for

The typical Miami-Dade house sold for $680,000 in August 2026, and the typical condo for $408,000. By price, both fit an FHA loan with the minimum down payment: the FHA loan limit in the county is $667,000 this year, so a house above roughly $691,000 no longer fits. But a condo also depends on the building: only some Miami-Dade condo buildings are FHA-approved (HUD publishes the list and it changes), and in many buildings the loan requires 20 to 25% down. Look up the building’s name on HUD’s list before you make an offer.

HouseCondo
Typical price$680,000$408,000
Monthly payment (without the building’s association fee)$6,250$3,690
You need to earn per year: the minimum$150,000$88,000
You need to earn per year: comfortable$242,000$143,000

The condo’s math is missing the association fee (HOA), what the building charges its owners each month. It is not $0: almost every condo has one, even when a listing does not show it, and it varies from building to building more than any other cost. Every $100 a month of fee raises what you need to earn by $2,400 a year for the minimum, and by about $3,900 to be comfortable.

If the down payment is what you are missing. There are county and state programs for that. Answer the basics and see which ones could fit you, with their amount and whether they are open today.

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Why the payment is more than the mortgage

  • The mortgage payment: the part of the loan you pay back plus the interest, over thirty years, on an FHA loan for 96.5% of the price. It is the only part that moves with the rate.
  • Property tax: we count 2% of the price per year. In 2025 it ran from 1.55% to 2.43% of value depending on the city, and when you buy, the value is reset to the purchase price: the limit on increases that protected the previous owner does not pass to you.
  • Homeowners insurance: $5,975 a year on average for a house with wind coverage in Miami-Dade, and $2,801 for a condo, according to Florida's insurance regulator.
  • FHA mortgage insurance: 0.55% of the loan per year. With the minimum down payment it never comes off; it lasts as long as the loan.
  • The association fee, if it is a condo. The building's insurance is inside it, which is why the condo's own policy comes out cheaper.

That is why the rate moves less than it seems: even when it drops, taxes and insurance do not drop with it.

With your numbers, not the example. With five questions and no credit check: how many properties for sale are within your reach and what you'd pay a month.

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If you already pay something every month

The minimum assumes you owe nothing else. If you pay a car, credit cards or a student loan, every $100 a month of those debts raises the minimum you need to earn by $2,400 a year.

And if you are right at the minimum, what gets you more house fastest is almost never earning more: it is getting a payment off your back.

We tell you how much house your salary buys.

Which part of your income a lender counts —overtime, tips, a second job, what you report on your taxes— moves the number more than the rate, and that is not in any table. Leave us your number and we work it out with you.

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This guide orients you, it does not advise you. The figures are for a typical house and a typical condo, not yours: your payment changes with the price, your city's property tax, your insurance, your building's fee and the rate you actually get. Each lender also counts your income its own way.

Whenever you want to move ahead, we handle it with you.