EXPERT HOME VALUATION
What's your Miami home really worth?
A valuation grounded in current Miami-Dade market data — not an algorithm. Prepared personally, with no obligation and no surprise calls.
Step 1 / 2
STEP 1 — YOUR HOME
Where is your home located?
Start typing your address. We'll preview it on the map.
Brokered by RELATED REALTY
Service in English, Русский
QUICK ANSWER
An expert Miami home valuation considers comparable closed sales, condition, view permanence, line and floor on condo towers, and HOA financial health. Algorithmic estimates from public sites can miss the per-unit factors that separate two lines in the same tower. A working agent's report produces a defensible price range for setting a list price or weighing an offer you have received. For a mortgage, a divorce settlement or an estate filing, the document that carries weight is a formal appraisal from a licensed Florida appraiser.
How a market valuation is built
What goes into the number
An online estimate sees square footage, a ZIP code and the recorded sales it can match. It cannot see the renovated kitchen, the patio enclosed without a permit, the line that faces the bay rather than the parking garage, or a special assessment the association has just approved. A valuation by a working agent starts where those models stop.
A comparative market analysis is a price range with the sales it rests on, laid out so the reasoning can be checked line by line. Florida law treats it as a licensed agent's opinion of value: it is not an appraisal, and it does not replace one when a lender or a court needs one.
Method
From an address to a price range
The public record
Parcel, lot and living area, year built, permits on file and the county's values. Gaps between the record and the house — an added bedroom, a converted garage — are flagged early, because a buyer's appraiser will read the same record.
The comparable sales
Closed sales of similar homes nearby, the most recent and closest first, then pending and active listings to read which way the market is moving. For a condo, sales in the same building and the same line count most.
The adjustments
Each comparable is adjusted for what differs: size, condition, view, floor, pool, water frontage, parking, the age of the renovation. Ask to see each adjustment written out, not buried in a total.
The building or the lot
For a condo: the association's budget, its reserves, the milestone inspection and any special assessment. For a house: roof age, flood zone, elevation and insurance — the costs a buyer will price in.
The range and what to do with it
A good analysis gives a list-price range, the sales behind each end of it, and how buyers are likely to read each price. Whether to sell, wait, refinance or simply know is your decision.
Four numbers
Four values that get confused
The same home can carry four different figures at once. Each is produced by someone else, for a different purpose.
Online estimate
- Who produces it
- An automated model on a listing portal.
- What it rests on
- Public records and the recorded sales an algorithm can match.
- What it is for
- A rough first look.
- Its limits
- Blind to condition, view, renovations and the building's finances.
Comparative market analysis
- Who produces it
- A licensed real estate agent or broker.
- What it rests on
- Comparable sales, current competition, the home's condition and, for a condo, the association's numbers.
- What it is for
- Setting a list price, judging an offer, timing a sale.
- Its limits
- An opinion of value. Florida law does not allow it to be called an appraisal.
Appraisal
- Who produces it
- A state-certified or licensed appraiser; for a mortgage, the lender selects the appraiser.
- What it rests on
- An inspection of the property and a written appraisal report.
- What it is for
- Mortgages and refinancing, estates, divorces, tax disputes.
- Its limits
- A value for one purpose, on one effective date.
County just value
- Who produces it
- The county property appraiser.
- What it rests on
- Mass valuation of every parcel on January 1.
- What it is for
- Property taxes and exemptions.
- Its limits
- A figure for taxation, not a sale price.
F.S. §475.612 (opinions of value by licensees; who may issue an appraisal report) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.1-02 (the lender selects the appraiser) · F.S. §§192.042, 193.011 (assessment on January 1 at just value).
South Florida specifics
What moves value here
View and floor
In a tower, two units with the same floor plan can sell far apart because of the floor and what the windows face. Buyers ask whether a view is protected; a permitted project across the street changes the answer.
The association's health
A condo buyer is entitled to the milestone inspection summary and the structural integrity reserve study where they apply, and reads them closely. A special assessment, approved or pending, is a cost a buyer subtracts from the price.
F.S. §718.503(2)
Roof, openings and insurance
Roof age and impact-rated windows and doors drive the insurance quote a buyer receives, and insurers must offer discounts for proven wind-mitigation features. A recent wind-mitigation report is worth having in hand.
F.S. §627.0629
Flood zone and elevation
In a Special Flood Hazard Area, federally regulated lenders require flood insurance, and buyers price that premium in. An elevation certificate that places the floor above base flood elevation is a fact a buyer can weigh.
42 U.S.C. §4012a
Permits for the work you did
A renovation counts in full when its permits are closed. Open or missing permits show up in a buyer's search and can turn into credits at the closing table.
Land and water
For a house: the lot, its frontage on a canal, the bay or the ocean, the seawall and dock and, for boaters, whether fixed bridges stand between the dock and open water.
Useful to have
What to have ready
None of it is needed to start. Each item narrows the range.
- Upgrades with dates and costs: roof, windows and doors, air conditioning, kitchen, baths.
- Permit numbers for the work, or a note of what was done without one.
- Your latest insurance declarations page and any wind-mitigation report.
- An elevation certificate or a survey, if you have them.
- For a condo: the latest budget, any special-assessment notice and the leasing rules.
- Your timing and what you would do next: it changes the advice, not the value.
Questions
Questions about valuing a home
How is this different from an online estimate?
An online estimate is calculated from public data without seeing the home. A comparative market analysis is prepared by a licensed agent who weighs condition, view, renovations and the building's finances against specific comparable sales, and shows which sales were used.
Is a comparative market analysis an appraisal?
No. Florida law lets licensed agents give an opinion of value, but it may not be called or treated as an appraisal. When a lender or a court needs a value, it comes from a state-certified or licensed appraiser.
Do I have to list my home afterwards?
No. A valuation request carries no obligation to list, to sign anything or to hire anyone.
Why doesn't the county's value match the market?
The property appraiser values every parcel on January 1 for taxation, by mass appraisal, and a homestead's assessed value can rise only 3% a year or by inflation, whichever is lower. Both make it a tax figure, not a price.
How long does a valuation stay accurate?
As long as the market around it stands still. A new sale in your building or on your street, a move in mortgage rates or a change of season can shift the range; ask for an update before you list.
Sources
Primary sources for the rules quoted on this page.
- F.S. §475.612 — opinions of value and appraisal reports
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.1-02 — lender responsibilities
- F.S. §192.042 — date of assessment
- F.S. §193.011 — just valuation
- F.S. §193.155 — homestead assessments
- F.S. §718.503 — condominium disclosure
- F.S. §627.0629 — wind-mitigation discounts
- 42 U.S.C. §4012a — flood insurance requirement
This service provides a market-based opinion of value, not a formal appraisal. For mortgage, divorce, or estate purposes a licensed Florida appraiser may be required. Submitted information is handled in accordance with our privacy policy.