I believe this leaves you with more housing stock to choose from because you aren't in an area surrounded by Illinois.

Your time is better spent mastering the market you choose than chasing the 'best' one.

Did that help choosing that specific location?

Typically it is binary, you either meet the 24 month requirement or you don't...there are a couple of exceptions for moving in less than 24 months which you can review here:https://www.irs.gov/publications/p523#en_US_2023_publink1000...Look at the "Partial exclusion" section

The key occupancy requirement for FHA loans is at the time of the original purchase—usually requiring you to live in the home for at least a year.If you've met the initial FHA loan requirement of living in the property for 12 months (which you would have by November 2024), you're typically free to move out and house-hack again, even if you choose the FHA streamline option If your goal is to acquire another property in Q1 2025, refinancing via FHA streamline shouldn’t prevent that.

It was enough of a difference that I might choose to refinance the loan.

Kory is saying that, if i choose the REPS route this year, I cannot use my 200K passing loses in 2024 to offset the capital gain of the 3 homes i sold this year.

For me, I'm going to choose where I want to live based on factors other than the real estate market. 

Which would you choose and why?

Just be careful with what cities in Miami you choose to do this in