Selling a home in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area

Selling a home in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area

South Florida's metro covers Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, and Miami-Dade even has its own deed tax rate. Here is what a seller here should check, with every figure linked to its source.

Facts checked September 30, 2026. Sources linked below each figure.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and rates below are for the tax years named, and your county office has the final word on your property.

Start with your property appraiser record and TRIM notice

Your county property appraiser sets the value your taxes are based on and keeps your exemptions. Here that is the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, the Broward County Property Appraiser or the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser. Look up your folio or parcel and check the owner names, homestead status and building details before you list.

Each August the property appraiser mails the TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice of proposed property taxes (Florida Department of Revenue). It is not a bill. It shows market value, assessed value, exemptions and each taxing authority's proposed rate. Condo owners should also have the association's budget and any special assessments ready, since buyers will ask.

Miami-Dade's property appraiser reminds owners not to jeopardize a homestead exemption by renting the property (Miami-Dade Property Appraiser). If you moved out and rented before selling, check how that affects your record.

How property taxes are split at closing

Florida tax bills generally go out in November, with early payment discounts of 4% in November down to 1% in February, and unpaid taxes become delinquent on April 1 (Florida Department of Revenue). If you sell before the year's bill is out, the closing agent usually estimates that year's taxes and splits them between you and the buyer as your contract directs. Ask how the estimate was made and whether it uses the discounted amount.

Your homestead cap resets for the buyer

With a homestead, your assessed value can rise no more than 3% or the change in CPI each year, whichever is less. After a sale the home loses that benefit and is assessed at just value on the following January 1 (Florida Department of Revenue, PT-112). If you have owned for years, your buyer's taxes may be much higher than yours.

Florida law requires a property tax disclosure summary telling buyers not to rely on the seller's current taxes. The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser publishes the full text (Miami-Dade Property Appraiser). From February 1, 2027, listing websites that display estimated taxes must use a standard method based on list price, and sites that do not may no longer show the seller's current taxes (Pinellas County Property Appraiser).

If you are buying another Florida home, you may be able to port up to $500,000 of your Save Our Homes benefit (Florida Statutes 193.155). You must set up the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one, and file the transfer form with your homestead application by March 1 (PT-112).

Flood and insurance questions buyers will ask

Insurance is often one of the first things South Florida buyers price out, so have answers ready.

• Flood zone. Look up your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. FEMA says there is no "no-risk zone," only lower or moderate risk areas (FEMA).
• Flood disclosure. You must give the buyer a written flood disclosure at or before contract signing, covering flood damage you know of, flood insurance claims and federal flood assistance during your ownership (Florida Statutes 689.302).
• Citizens policies. A buyer insured by Citizens Property Insurance must carry flood insurance in phases, reaching all other personal residential policies from January 1, 2027. Condo unit owner forms and policies without wind coverage are exempt (Florida Statutes 627.351).
• Wind mitigation. A wind mitigation inspection on the state form can support premium discounts, and the form was updated effective April 1, 2026 (Florida Office of Insurance Regulation).

What shapes prices in South Florida

Census estimates show the metro grew about 4.1% from April 2020 to July 2025, led by Palm Beach County (up about 5.6%), with Miami-Dade and Broward up about 3.5% to 3.7% (Census Bureau). In the year to July 2025, though, the metro total dipped by about 8,900: roughly 113,700 more people left for other U.S. counties than arrived, mostly offset by about 93,500 international arrivals.

For a single home, flood zone, elevation, insurance cost, roof age, condo association finances and the tax reset your buyer faces all matter alongside size and condition. A licensed local agent can pull comparable sales for your building or street, and you can request a free market report or a cash offer to compare. Run your numbers in the net proceeds calculator.