Florida Offers ...

Beautiful Sunsets

Easy Access to Beaches

An Abundance of Boating Facilities

Florida Living

Millions of tourists and new residents are drawn each year to Florida by the mild climate, abundance of boating facilities, easy access to the beaches, beautiful golf courses and, of course, no state income taxes! If you're going to call Tampa your new home, you'll want to be sure to attend the Gasparilla Pirate Festival held every January in honor of the arrival of the first pirates in Tampa Bay in 1822. Every year, over 400,000 attendees come to participate in the two day celebration.

Florida offers numerous other forms of entertainment including a wide variety of theme and amusement park attractions from Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando located a short one hour drive from Tampa Bay to Busch Gardens and the Florida Aquarium located in downtown Tampa.

Florida's Official State Flower

It may interest you to know that the official state flower of Florida is the Orange Blossom selected by the legislature in 1909. The Orange Blossom is one of the most fragrant flowers in Florida and during orange blossom time, millions of these white flowers perfume the atmosphere throughout central and south Florida.

Historical Facts and Demographics

Florida was the 27th state was admitted to the Union in 1845. Florida, the southeastern most state in the United States, forms a peninsula separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the area of Florida totals 53,926 square miles and the 2006 population estimate was 18,089,888. The Census Bureau reported an 11.3% increase in population from April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005.

Housing Data

The number of housing units in Florida in 2005 was estimated to be 8,256,847 and the home ownership rate calculated from 2000 Census data was estimated at 70.1% compared to the national average of 66.2%. The U.S. Census Bureau also reported that the Median value of owner-occupied housing units in 2000 was $105,500 which was slightly lower than the national average at that time of $119,600.

Statewide Realty Services

If you're contemplating various locations throughout Florida, you may wish to contact some of these out-of-town realty agencies who should be able to provide you with detailed real estate information and answer specific questions you may have about their locales.