First-Time Home Buyer in Fort Lauderdale: City Assistance, Limits and Real Numbers

Short answer

First-time buyers purchasing inside Fort Lauderdale city limits may qualify for up to $75,000 from the City of Fort Lauderdale Housing Purchase Assistance Program, a 15-year deferred loan for down payment, closing costs or principal reduction, if household income is under the HUD limits ($64,550 for one person, $92,200 for four). Funding is limited and comes in rounds, so most buyers pair an FHA or conventional first mortgage with state help from Florida Housing or a QMS forgivable grant. Figures are as of October 2026 and every loan is subject to credit approval.

The City of Fort Lauderdale purchase assistance program

Statewide rules are in our Florida first-time buyer guide. Inside Fort Lauderdale city limits, the city's program flyer lists, as of October 2026:

• Amount: up to $75,000 for down payment, closing costs and/or principal reduction.
• Form: a 15-year deferred payment loan. The city's 2025-2028 SHIP housing plan describes it as 0% interest, forgiven at the end of 15 years, and due early if you sell, lease, rent or transfer the home.
• Who: first-time buyers, meaning no ownership of a principal residence in the three years before purchase.
• Homes: single-family houses, townhouses, condos and villas, existing or new, inside the city. Mobile and manufactured homes are not eligible.
• Income (2025 HUD limits): $64,550 for 1 person, $73,800 for 2, $83,000 for 3 and $92,200 for 4.

The city's SHIP plan for fiscal years 2025-2026 through 2027-2028, approved by the City Commission in March 2025, adds rules the flyer does not show: a $636,806 maximum sales price, a minimum $1,000 contribution from you, a housing counseling certificate from a HUD-certified agency obtained before you apply, a licensed home inspection with termite and roof reports, and a city inspection before purchase. That plan allows awards up to $90,000 for this strategy, but its delivery chart funds about one purchase-assistance home per year, so treat the money as scarce.

You apply through the city's nonprofit partners, such as Housing Foundation of America (954-923-5001) or Oasis of Hope CDC (954-586-1283). City office: 954-828-6024. Funds open by notice and go first-qualified, first-served.

What Fort Lauderdale prices mean for a first-time buyer

Fort Lauderdale is one of the pricier Broward cities for a first home. In Q2 2026 the city closed 429 single-family sales at a median of $762,500, up 13.8% from a year earlier, and 473 townhouse and condo sales at a median of $483,263 (Florida Realtors data published by MIAMI REALTORS, as of October 2026). Broward's countywide medians were $630,000 and $262,600.

Three limits shape what a first-time buyer can do here:

• FHA: the 2026 one-unit limit in Broward is $667,000. With 3.5% down, that covers a price up to about $691,000. The median house is above it.
• Conventional: the 2026 conforming limit is $832,750, so a median house with 5% down ($724,375 loan) still fits a conventional loan.
• City assistance: the $636,806 price cap in the city's SHIP plan rules out most median-priced houses.

The practical result: a first-time buyer who wants city money is usually shopping condos, townhouses and villas, or the smaller houses in the west and northwest neighborhoods. A median-priced condo is well inside every limit. Condos bring their own test, though. FHA needs an FHA-approved building or a single-unit approval, and conventional lenders review the condo questionnaire, the milestone inspection and the reserve study.

State help and grants that work in Fort Lauderdale

Broward County runs its own Homebuyer Purchase Assistance program, but Fort Lauderdale is not one of the communities on the county's June 2026 funds flyer; the city funds its own program instead. That makes state money and private grants more important here. As of October 2026:

• Florida Hometown Heroes: 5% of the first mortgage, minimum $10,000 and maximum $35,000, as a 0% deferred second due when you sell, refinance or move out. It is for full-time workers of Florida-based employers in health care, schools, public safety, courts and child care, plus military and veterans. Florida Housing said in February 2026 that all 2025-2026 money was committed; the program reopened July 13, 2026 with $50 million, first-come, first-served.
• FL Assist: up to $10,000 at 0%, deferred, not forgivable. HFA PLUS: 3% to 5% of the loan, forgiven over five years, conventional only.
• QMS forgivable down payment grant: 2% or 3.5% of the price with an FHA loan, no second lien, 620 minimum score, and first-time status not required. It cannot be combined with another assistance program.

Florida Housing programs require a 640 minimum score, homebuyer education, a Florida Housing first mortgage through a participating lender, and income and price under the Broward limits. Whether it can sit behind the city loan depends on both programs' rules. All programs: Florida down payment assistance page.

Cash to close and the monthly bill on a Fort Lauderdale condo

Here is an FHA example at the city's Q2 2026 condo median of $483,263, before any assistance:

• Down payment (3.5%): about $16,914, for a base loan of about $466,349.
• Upfront mortgage insurance (1.75%): about $8,161, usually added to the loan, for a total of about $474,510. Annual MIP is 0.55% on this loan size.
• Florida taxes on the loan: doc stamps on the note at $0.35 per $100 (about $1,661) and the 2-mill intangible tax (about $949).
• Property taxes: Fort Lauderdale's city operating rate is 4.1193 mills, and the City Commission kept it unchanged for fiscal year 2027 on September 14, 2026. Adding the 2025 Broward County, school board, North Broward Hospital District and special-district operating rates brings the total to roughly 18.0 mills, about 1.8% of taxable value, before voted debt. On $483,263 that is roughly $8,700 a year before the homestead exemption.

On a conventional 97% loan the same condo needs about $14,498 down, with PMI instead of MIP. Add HOA dues, an HO-6 policy and flood insurance if the building sits in a flood zone, which covers much of the city east of Federal Highway and along the New River. Title and prepaids: see our Florida closing costs guide. Rates vary daily; call for today's pricing.

The order that keeps city money on the table

1. Get the counseling certificate first. The city requires it before you apply, and the plan treats it as good for two years.

2. Get pre-approved. We confirm first-time status, household income against the HUD table and which first mortgage fits: FHA for scores from 580, conventional 97% for stronger credit.

3. Call a nonprofit partner to ask whether a funding round is open. If not, we plan around state money or the QMS grant.

4. Shop under the caps. Under $636,806 for city money, and inside $667,000 (FHA) or $832,750 (conventional) for the loan. Check condo approval early.

5. Inspect. The city wants a licensed home inspection with termite and roof reports, then its own inspection.

6. Close. You sign the first mortgage and the city's recorded note. Keep that paperwork: renting the home out or selling within 15 years triggers repayment.

QMS Lending is an independent mortgage broker in Miami, FL, NMLS #1781090, working with 100+ lenders in English and Spanish. See our Fort Lauderdale page for neighborhoods, flood zones and condo notes. Call 305-425-1990. Equal Housing Opportunity.