Licensed Florida real estate brokerage
What does a comparative market analysis actually include when a licensee prepares one?
A straight answer from a licensed Florida real estate brokerage — then what you can check yourself and when to bring in a licensed professional. Free consultation: (954) 703-4504.
A comparative market analysis is a written opinion of value a licensed Florida broker or sales associate prepares from recent comparable sales, plus active and pending listings, with adjustments for condition, updates, size, age and location. It is not an appraisal and not an automated estimate — it is a licensee's reasoned opinion of what the current market is likely to respond to.
The nuance that changes the answer in Florida: a credible CMA also weighs the things that move buyer demand here — flood zone and elevation, roof age and wind-mitigation features, insurability, and for condominiums the association's fees, reserves and any special assessments. Two otherwise identical homes can sit in very different market positions because of those items.
What goes into the analysis
The core is comparable sales: closed transactions of similar properties, ideally recent and nearby, that show what buyers have actually paid. Active listings show the competition a seller would face, and pending listings show what the market has accepted most recently but not yet closed.
From there the licensee adjusts. Differences in square footage, bedroom and bath count, lot, garage, age of construction, renovations, water or view exposure, and overall condition are each accounted for. Florida's housing stock is mixed — block-and-stucco single-family, a very large condo inventory, townhomes, villas, manufactured homes and 55-plus communities — so the comparables must come from the same property type and, for condos, usually the same or a closely similar building.
A Florida CMA should also flag the carrying-cost factors buyers price in: roof age and whether the home is likely to be insurable, wind-mitigation features documented on the uniform mitigation form OIR-B1-1802, whether the property sits in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, and condominium milestone inspection and structural integrity reserve study results. It should note that a buyer's property taxes may reset after a sale, since homestead and Save Our Homes caps apply to the current owner, not automatically to the next one.
Finally, it states what it is not. A written broker price opinion should say on its face that it is not an appraisal; a formal appraisal for lending or legal purposes must be done by a state-licensed or certified appraiser regulated by the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board within DBPR.
What you can check yourself before the CMA
Your county property appraiser record
Confirm the recorded square footage, year built, bed and bath count and lot size. Also check your homestead exemption and assessed value — assessed value is not market value and should not be used as one.
Your FEMA flood zone
Look up the property on the FEMA flood maps. A lender generally requires flood insurance in a Special Flood Hazard Area, and homes outside one can still flood; Florida sellers must give buyers a flood disclosure under s. 689.302, F.S.
Roof age and insurance documents
Find the roof permit or replacement date and any prior wind-mitigation or four-point inspection reports. Insurers commonly request a four-point on older homes and give wind-mitigation credits under s. 627.0629, F.S.
Association documents, if you own a condo or in an HOA
Request the budget, reserve information, and for condo or co-op buildings three stories or taller, the milestone inspection (s. 553.899, F.S.) and structural integrity reserve study (s. 718.112(2)(g), F.S.). Pending special assessments affect what buyers will pay.
Your own improvement list
Write down permitted renovations with dates — kitchen, baths, windows, HVAC, electrical and plumbing updates. These drive the condition adjustments in the analysis.
When to bring in a licensed professional
Once you need a number you can act on — pricing a listing, deciding whether to sell or hold, or testing an offer — a licensee should prepare the CMA, because selecting and adjusting comparables is judgment work that automated estimates do not do. If the value is needed for a loan, a divorce, an estate or litigation, you need a state-licensed or certified appraiser instead, and a Florida real-estate attorney for the legal side; we are a brokerage, not a law firm.
Insurability questions belong with your insurance agent, condo reserve and assessment questions with the association, and assessment or exemption questions with the county property appraiser. Call Premier Real Estate Group Inc at (954) 703-4504 or use the form on this page for a free, no-obligation comparative market analysis anywhere in Florida.
Premier Real Estate Group Inc is a licensed Florida real estate brokerage (broker license BK3314523). Verify at Florida DBPR.
What a licensed real-estate professional will do
- Pull and screen the comparablesRecent closed sales plus active and pending listings of the same property type, screened for relevance rather than simply averaged.
- Adjust for condition and updatesSize, age, layout, renovations, exposure and overall condition are weighed against each comparable to reach an opinion of value.
- Factor the Florida cost driversFlood zone, insurance and roof age, wind-mitigation features, condo fees and any assessments following milestone inspections or a SIRS, and the tax reset a buyer may face.
- Explain the market windowValuation requests tend to cluster in late winter and spring ahead of the main selling season and again after TRIM notices and tax bills arrive, which affects how much competition a listing would face.
- Deliver it with no obligationPremier Real Estate Group Inc, or a licensed agent we refer you to, will contact you by phone or email. If you decide to list, a written listing agreement, brokerage relationship disclosure and seller disclosures follow.
Related questions
- Is a CMA the same as an appraisal?
- No. A licensed Florida broker or sales associate may prepare a CMA or broker price opinion in the ordinary course of brokerage business, and a written BPO should state that it is not an appraisal. A formal appraisal for lending or legal purposes must come from a state-licensed or certified appraiser.
- Why doesn't a CMA match my property appraiser's assessed value?
- Assessed value is a tax figure shaped by homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes cap, so it can differ sharply from market value. A buyer's taxes may also reset after a sale. Verify assessment and exemption details with your county property appraiser.
- How are condos valued differently?
- Condo comparables usually need to come from the same or a very similar building, because fees, reserve funding, milestone inspection findings and any special assessments vary building by building. Ask the association for its milestone and SIRS reports and current budget.
- Does a CMA tell me my closing costs?
- No — it is a valuation opinion. Closing items such as documentary stamp tax on the deed and on a new note, and the nonrecurring intangible tax, are set by statute and the contract, and who pays each is negotiable. Note that Miami-Dade County applies a different deed stamp structure with a surtax on non-single-family property; you can estimate using the free calculator at /tools/florida-closing-costs.
- Do I have to list with you to get a CMA?
- No. The comparative market analysis and consultation are free with no obligation. A licensee will contact you by phone or email to gather details and deliver the opinion of value.
Request your free market analysis
Tell us the address and a little about the home. A licensed real-estate professional will contact you.
Licensed brokerage
Premier Real Estate Group Inc
Broker of record Maxim Bohadana, Florida broker license BK3314523
(954) 703-4504