Side by side
| Florida | Texas | |
| Demand driver | Tourism — theme parks, beaches, cruises. Highly predictable, heavily seasonal. | Urban, business, events and universities. Steadier, less seasonal. |
| Seasonality | Pronounced. Peak school holidays carry the year. | Flatter, with event-driven spikes. |
| Entry price | current median in your target submarkets | generally lower in comparable metros |
| State income tax | None | |
| Property tax | moderate | notably higher than Florida |
| Insurance | high, and rising, hurricane exposure | lower, though hail and wind matter |
| Regulation | Varies sharply by city and county. HOAs are frequently the binding constraint. | Varies by city. Some metros far more restrictive than others. |
| Resort communities | Extensive and purpose-built for short-term letting. | Rare. Mostly ordinary residential stock. |
The thing that decides it
Regulation, not yield. A property that pencils beautifully in a city that restricts short-term letting six months after you buy is not an investment, it is a long-term rental you overpaid for. We underwrite the rules before the returns, and in both states that means reading the municipal ordinance and the HOA covenants before anything else.