Highlands County Homes for Sale

Highlands County snapshot (April 2026): typical home value $234K ($153/sqft), median rent $1,533, about 869 active listings, a median 79 days on market, and 18.4% of listings cutting price — a buyer's market. Values are -1.8% over the past year and +7.3% over five years.

Highlands County's economy rests on a deep agricultural base — citrus, cattle, and the Lykes Brothers ranching operations among the region's largest — plus healthcare (AdventHealth Sebring and HCA), retirement services, and the tourism around Sebring International Raceway, the historic home of the 12 Hours of Sebring. Energy infrastructure (Gulfstream Natural Gas) and the county's government and schools round it out.

The School Board of Highlands County serves a small, rural district across Sebring, Avon Park, and Lake Placid.

• Sebring High School
• Avon Park High School
• Lake Placid High School

Confirm the zoned assignment among the county's three high-school communities. See school-zone guides →

A median-priced Highlands County home costs about $1,747/month all-in (mortgage, tax, and insurance, 10% down) against median household income of $55,581. Florida's homestead exemption removes up to $50,000 of assessed value, and Save Our Homes caps annual assessed-value increases at 3% while you keep the homestead.

At about $1,753 a year on average, Highlands is middle-of-the-pack for Florida — manageable, but very address-dependent near the water. Wind-mitigation features earn insurance credits; flood insurance is priced separately by address. Run your own numbers with the true cost calculator.

Builders pulled 768 residential permits last year (-21.6% YoY) — 706 single-family and 62 multifamily, about 7.4 per 1,000 residents. Active master-planned communities include Sun 'n Lake of Sebring; Spring Lake; Placid Lakes; Tanglewood (55+); Sebring Village. Builders compete on rate buydowns and closing-cost credits; buyer representation matters even on a new build. See active builders →

Highlands County has about 103,808 residents. On a net domestic basis it gained roughly 1,558 people and a net +$57.94M in adjusted gross income in the latest IRS filing year (county-to-county moves within the U.S.; this does not count international migration or births). Migration is the demand engine behind prices: when more income flows in than out, it supports both rents and values.

Expect Highlands to stay an affordable, value-driven market over the next 12 months, with steady retiree-and-seasonal demand, slow price movement, and the lakes and the raceway as enduring draws.

Highlands County's economy rests on a deep agricultural base — citrus, cattle, and the Lykes Brothers ranching operations among the region's largest — plus healthcare (AdventHealth Sebring and HCA), retirement services, and the tourism around Sebring International Raceway, the historic home of the 12 Hours of Sebring. Energy infrastructure (Gulfstream Natural Gas) and the county's government and schools round it out.

• School Board of Highlands County
• AdventHealth Sebring
• HCA Florida Highlands Hospital
• Lykes Brothers (agriculture)
• Sebring Airport Authority / Sebring International Raceway
• Highlands County government
• Gulfstream Natural Gas

Sebring International Raceway, home of the 12 Hours of Sebring, is a signature local employer and tourism draw; agriculture (Lykes Brothers citrus and cattle) anchors the rural economy.

A deep, diversified employer base is what underpins housing demand through national cycles. Talk to a local Highlands County agent →

Highlands is the inland Heartland: the historic 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race, the clear lakes of the Lake Wales Ridge for bass fishing and boating (Lake Jackson, Lake Istokpoga), the famous caladium fields and murals of Lake Placid, Highlands Hammock State Park, and a slow, rural, affordable pace. It is a fishing-racing-and-retiree county far from the coastal crowds.

Highlands' risks are rural-Florida ones: an economy heavily tied to agriculture and retirees, lake-and-low-lying flooding, and limited job diversity. It is well inland, so hurricane risk is wind-and-rain rather than surge, and insurance is among the more moderate in the state. Appreciation tends to be slow and steady.