Selling a Condo in Florida

What the numbers say about Florida condos versus houses

Over five years the statewide condo index rose 12.2%, compared with 19.0% for single-family homes. The typical condo is now worth about 66% of the typical house ($262,592 versus $396,809). The decline from peak is also much steeper: roughly $51,000 off the condo high, against about 6% off the house high.

The spread across cities is wide. Typical condo values run from $135,732 in Sunrise and $139,356 in Palm Bay to $403,495 in Fort Lauderdale and $460,054 in Miami Beach. In a few places condos are valued close to or above the overall market: Palm Coast condos at $352,336 against $343,894 for all homes, and The Villages at $367,342 against $392,424. Your building's age, size and reserve position will matter more than these averages, but they show where buyer demand is thin and where it holds.

Milestone inspections and SIRS: the questions every buyer asks

Since the 2022 condo safety law and later changes, condo buildings three or more habitable stories tall need a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year the building turns 30 (25 if the local building official requires it), then every 10 years. Associations must also complete a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) every 10 years, and for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners can no longer vote to waive or reduce the reserves the study calls for.

For a seller, this shows up in three places:

• Buyer questions. Has the milestone inspection been done, and what did phase two find. Is the SIRS complete, and are reserves funded to it.
• Monthly fees. Fully funded reserves raise the budget. A buyer compares your fee with similar buildings that already absorbed the increase.
• Lender review. Lenders look at reserve funding and required repairs when deciding whether to finance units in the building.

Get the inspection reports, the SIRS and the current budget from the association before you list. A building that finished its inspection and repairs and funds reserves is an easier sale than one still in the middle of the process, and buyers pay for that certainty.

Selling with a special assessment levied or coming

Special assessments for concrete restoration, roofs, elevators and reserve catch-up are the most common reason Florida condo deals fall apart today. If an assessment has been levied, it must be disclosed, and the estoppel certificate will show it. The contract decides who pays, and you have three practical options:

• Pay it off at closing from your proceeds. The buyer gets a clean unit and you price accordingly.
• Let the buyer assume remaining installments with a matching price reduction. This keeps your cash at closing higher but cuts the buyer pool to those who accept the payments.
• Split it with a credit negotiated in the offer.

A proposed assessment that hasn't been voted on yet is harder. Buyers will see it in board minutes and budgets, so disclose what you know and expect the price to reflect it. Trying to close before the vote rarely works because it surfaces in the documents.

Association documents and the buyer's 7-day window

Resale condo buyers receive the association's governing documents, rules, budget, and financial information, and since July 1, 2025 they can cancel within 7 days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) after receiving them. The clock doesn't start until the buyer has the documents, so the faster you deliver a complete set, the faster the deal firms up.

Order the document package from the association or its management company as soon as you decide to sell. Read it yourself. If the budget, minutes or inspection reports raise an issue, you want to address it in the listing, not hear about it on day six of a buyer's review period.

Many Florida condo associations also have buyer approval or application requirements. Check your documents for approval timelines and build them into the closing date.

Financing: why some buildings lose most of their buyers

For a financed sale, the lender reviews the building as well as the buyer. Condos that meet Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac standards are called warrantable and can be financed with conventional loans. Buildings with significant deferred maintenance, underfunded reserves, pending litigation, a large share of units owned by one entity or other issues can be non-warrantable, which limits buyers to cash or portfolio loans with larger down payments.

Ask your association or management company for the completed lender questionnaire before you list, and ask a loan officer whether the building is currently financeable. If it isn't, you price for a cash buyer pool, and you should know that before you pick a list price.

Condo-specific costs on the seller's statement

On top of the usual seller costs, condo sales add a few items:

• Estoppel certificate: capped by statute (2024 caps: $299 base, $119 more for expedited delivery, $179 more if the account is delinquent). The standard contract usually assigns it to the seller.
• Unpaid dues and assessments: brought current at closing from your proceeds.
• Document package and application fees: set by the association within legal limits.
• Deed doc stamps: $0.70 per $100 statewide. In Miami-Dade, condos pay $0.60 plus the $0.45 surtax on property other than single-family homes, so about $4,027 on a Miami condo at the city's $383,531 typical value.

Pricing a condo when buyers have the upper hand

Price your unit against recent closed sales in the same building first, then in comparable buildings with similar age, height and reserve status. A sale from 2023 in your building, before the assessment or reserve increase, is not a good comp today. Adjust for the monthly fee: a buyer translates a higher fee into a lower price they can afford.

Building insurance belongs in the same conversation. The association's master policy, its hurricane deductible and any recent premium jump all flow into the budget, and coastal buildings feel this most. Ask the manager for the current policy summary and renewal date so a buyer's questions get a same-day answer.

Disclose clearly, deliver documents fast, and have answers ready on inspections, reserves, assessments and insurance. This isn't legal or tax advice; if your unit was a second home, a CPA should look at the gain before you sell. For a price that accounts for your building's file as well as your unit, start with the valuation form on this page.