Licensed Florida real estate brokerage
What is the difference between a market analysis and a licensed appraisal?
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 (CMA) is an opinion of value prepared by a licensed real estate broker or sales associate from recent comparable sales, active and pending listings, and adjustments for condition and updates. A licensed appraisal is a formal valuation report performed by a state-licensed or certified real estate appraiser, regulated by the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board within DBPR, and it is what lenders and courts rely on.
The practical difference is purpose and authority. A Florida broker or sales associate may prepare a CMA or broker price opinion for a client in the ordinary course of brokerage business, and it is typically used to set a list price or decide whether to sell. A formal appraisal is required when value is being used for lending or legal purposes — a mortgage, an estate, a divorce, a tax appeal. A written broker price opinion should state on its face that it is not an appraisal.
Why it comes up in Florida
Sellers usually start with a CMA because it is free, conversational and focused on what buyers in the current market are likely to respond to. Appraisals come later, almost always ordered by the buyer's lender after a contract is signed, and they follow a defined report format and scope.
Florida adds variables that both a CMA and an appraisal have to account for: roof age and insurability, flood zone designation and elevation, wind-mitigation features documented on the uniform mitigation form OIR-B1-1802, and, for condominiums, milestone inspection findings and structural integrity reserve study results. Florida requires a milestone structural inspection for condo and co-op buildings three stories or taller once they reach 30 years (s. 553.899, F.S.) and a SIRS for those associations (s. 718.112(2)(g), F.S.). Pending assessments tied to those reports can affect what buyers will pay.
A third number confuses people: the county assessed value on a TRIM notice. Because of the homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes assessment cap, assessed value can differ sharply from market value, and a buyer's taxes may reset after a sale. It is not an appraisal and not a market analysis.
What you can check yourself
Your county property appraiser record
Confirm square footage, bedroom and bath count, year built, and current exemptions. Errors in the record are common and they follow a property into valuation work.
Recent nearby sales
Look at closed sales of similar size, age and construction type in your immediate area. Closed sales carry more weight than asking prices in both a CMA and an appraisal.
Your FEMA flood zone
Flood zones come from FEMA flood maps, and a lender generally requires flood insurance in a Special Flood Hazard Area. Homes outside one can still flood, and Florida sellers must give buyers a flood disclosure under s. 689.302, F.S.
Roof age and insurance documents
Find the roof permit date and any prior four-point or wind-mitigation inspection reports. Insurers commonly request these on older homes, and roof condition often drives whether coverage is offered at all.
Association documents, if you own a condo or in an HOA
Request budgets, reserve information, milestone and SIRS reports, and any notice of special assessment. These are part of buyer due diligence and affect buyer demand.
When to bring in a licensed professional
Call a brokerage when you want a pricing opinion to decide whether and how to list. Order a licensed appraiser when a lender, a court, an estate or a tax matter requires a formal report — a brokerage cannot substitute for that.
For questions about how a value will be used in a legal proceeding, speak with a Florida real-estate attorney; we are a brokerage, not a law firm. Verify assessment and exemption details with your county property appraiser, insurance questions with your insurance agent, and association matters with the association.
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
- Prepare a free comparative market analysisA licensee reviews recent comparable sales plus active and pending listings and adjusts for condition and updates. It is an opinion of value, not an appraisal and never an automated number.
- Walk the property or review photos and recordsCondition, updates, layout and finish level all change the comparison set. A number generated without looking at the home is not a market analysis.
- Flag the Florida-specific itemsFlood zone, insurance cost, roof age and wind-mitigation features, and for condos association fees and special assessments after milestone inspections or SIRS.
- Explain the tax pictureHow homestead and Save Our Homes affect your assessed value today and how a buyer's taxes may reset after a sale — with the county property appraiser as the source of record.
- Discuss timing and next stepsValuation requests cluster ahead of the main selling season and again after TRIM notices arrive. If you decide to list, a written listing agreement, brokerage relationship disclosure and seller disclosures follow.
Related questions
- Will the appraisal match my list price?
- Not necessarily. The lender's appraiser works from a defined scope and their own comparable selection, so the result can land above, at or below the contract price. What happens next is governed by the purchase contract's appraisal terms.
- Can I use a CMA for a divorce, estate or tax appeal?
- Generally no. Those uses call for a formal appraisal from a state-licensed or certified appraiser. Ask a Florida real-estate attorney what the specific proceeding requires.
- Is a broker price opinion the same as a CMA?
- They are closely related opinions of value prepared by a licensee. A written broker price opinion should state that it is not an appraisal.
- Why is my county assessed value so different from market value?
- The homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes cap limit how fast assessed value rises for a primary residence, so it can drift well away from market value over time. Confirm your exemption and assessment details with the county property appraiser.
- What does your market analysis cost?
- Our comparative market analysis and consultation are free with no obligation. Call Premier Real Estate Group Inc at (954) 703-4504 or send the form on this page, and a licensed real-estate professional — our brokerage or a licensed agent we refer you to — will contact you by phone or email.
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Licensed brokerage
Premier Real Estate Group Inc
Broker of record Maxim Bohadana, Florida broker license BK3314523
(954) 703-4504