How Long Does It Take to Build a House in South Florida?

New home construction timeline

The short answer

Census Bureau averages

What the build-time data actually says

The Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction follows a sample of new houses from permit to completion and publishes the average time each stage took. It separates houses built for sale by a builder (usually repeated plans), houses built by a contractor on the owner’s land (the custom-home case, and the way we build), and owner-built houses. The 2025 averages for the South region, which includes Florida, look like this:

Two things stand out. A custom house takes longer than a builder’s spec house, because the design is new and the finishes are chosen one by one. And the time between permit and start is short on average: 1.5 months for contractor-built houses in the South in 2025. The long, variable part of a South Florida schedule usually sits before the permit is issued, which the Census clock does not measure.

Lot, design and approvals

Before the permit: the part no average measures

A new house starts with the lot. Its flood zone and base flood elevation, the design wind speed, whether public sewer is available, and any zoning or HOA limits all shape the drawings (our build-cost guide explains each one). Then come the architectural drawings, the structural engineering for the wind speed, the energy calculations and the product approvals for the windows and doors.

The permit review is broader than one plans examiner. In unincorporated Miami-Dade, for example, the county lists building, structural and trade review against the Florida Building Code, zoning review of setbacks, height and landscaping, and environmental review of flood rules, trees and sewer capacity. Cities with their own building departments run their own version of the same checks. If the lot is in a community association, its architectural review can now run at the same time: an HOA “may not require a building permit to be issued” before it reviews the plans (section 720.3035, as amended in 2026).

Section 553.792

The permit clocks Florida law sets

Since July 1, 2026, section 553.792, Florida Statutes, gives the building department these deadlines once the application is complete. The clocks count business days, not calendar days:

Two practical notes. When the department sends back a list of deficiencies, its next deadline runs from the corrected resubmission, so complete, coordinated drawings are what actually shorten this stage; a department “may not require the waiver” of these deadlines as a condition of review. And the owner, or the contractor with the owner’s written authorization, may use a private provider for plan review and inspections (section 553.791). Our new construction permitting team prepares and tracks the package.

Once the permit is issued, two more clocks start. If the contract took a deposit of more than 10%, the contractor must apply for permits within 30 days and start work within 90 days of the permit being issued (section 489.126). And the Florida Building Code (section 105.4.1) makes a permit invalid if work does not start within 6 months of issue, or stops for 6 months; work counts as in active progress when the permit “has received an approved inspection within 180 days.”

Inspection hold points

The build: where the work stops for inspection

Florida’s code leaves the order to the local office: “The building official shall determine the timing and sequencing of when inspections occur” (section 110.3). The list itself is fixed, though, and every item on it is a point where the next trade waits for an inspector. Before the first inspection, the notice of commencement must be recorded and posted on the site (section 713.135).

The order matters because each inspection gates the next trade. Framing, including the tie beams, lintels, trusses and connectors, is inspected after the roof framing is in place. The electrical, plumbing and mechanical rough-ins are inspected after that and before drywall goes up, which is why a house can look complete from the street while the inside is still open. A failed inspection means a correction and a re-inspection before that work can be covered.

The paperwork has a clock too. A notice of commencement expires one year after it is recorded unless it names a different date (section 713.13). With the average contractor-built house taking 9.0 months from start in the South and 10.5 nationally, before any delay, the expiration date is worth setting deliberately when the notice is prepared. At the end, no one may move in until the building official issues the certificate of occupancy (section 111.1); a temporary certificate is possible in some cases (111.3).

Flood elevation, storms and tests

What adds time in South Florida

Flood elevation checks. In a flood hazard area, section 110.3 requires the elevation certification “upon placement of the lowest floor … and prior to further vertical construction.” The walls wait for the surveyor’s certified elevation. The final inspection needs a second, final certification, and FEMA’s Elevation Certificate notes that “a new Elevation Certificate will be required when construction of the building is complete.” How high the floor must be is set by the Florida Building Code, Residential (R322): see our flood rules guide.

Hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. On a build that spans most of a year, part of it will almost always fall in the season, so the schedule should aim to get the house dried in: roof sheathing and dry-in, and the approved impact-resistant windows and doors, which section 110.3 lists as an inspection of their own. See our hurricane-rated window systems.

Energy tests before the final. Every new house must pass a blower-door test (no more than seven air changes an hour) and a duct leakage test under the Florida Energy Conservation Code. Passing the first time depends on air sealing and duct work done during the rough-in and close-in stages, not at the end.

The whole sequence

From lot to keys, in order

No honest source gives South Florida week counts for each stage, and we do not invent them. This is the order things happen in, with the Florida rules that set the pace along the way:

1. 1Check the lotFlood zone and elevation, wind speed, sewer or septic, zoning and HOA rules.
2. 2Design and engineeringDrawings, structural design for the wind speed, energy calculations, product approvals.
3. 3ContractIf the deposit is over 10%: apply for permits within 30 days, start within 90 days of issue (s. 489.126).
4. 4Permit reviewMissing-items notice within 5 business days; decision within 30 (under 7,500 sq ft) (s. 553.792). HOA review can run in parallel.
5. 5Notice of commencementRecorded and posted before the first inspection; expires after 1 year unless a later date is named.
6. 6Foundation and lowest floorFoundation inspection; in a flood zone, the elevation certified before the walls go up.
7. 7Structure and dry-inFraming, sheathing, roofing and impact openings inspected in turn.
8. 8Rough-ins and close-inTrade rough-ins inspected before drywall; then finishes.
9. 9Tests and finalsBlower-door and duct tests, final inspections, final elevation certificate, then the certificate of occupancy.

Interactive checklist

Before you set a move-in date: a checklist

Our process

How we schedule a new house

We schedule new home construction from the permit and the inspection sequence, not from a generic chart. The lot checks and the drawings come first, because a complete, coordinated permit package is what keeps the review clock short. On a design-build new home, the same team carries the design, the permit and the build, so corrections are made by the people who drew the plans. We also handle lot preparation and custom home construction.

For an example of a modern build, see our modern new-construction home project. Send us the lot address and any drawings you have, and we will walk you through the permit path and the inspection sequence for that lot.