Seller guide
The actual cost of selling a home in South Florida
By Doug Richman · about 5 min · reviewed July 2026
Sellers usually know the commission number and almost nothing else about what stands between the sale price and their wire. The rest is knowable to the dollar before you ever list, and knowing it changes decisions about pricing and timing.
- 01 · Contract priceTop line
The headline number before any payoff, tax, repair, assessment, or closing obligation.
- 02 · Documentary stampsRoughly 0.7% statewide
Miami-Dade treats some property types differently, so verify the actual calculation.
- 03 · Property and contract costsVariable deductions
Mortgage payoff, tax proration, repairs, estoppels, assessments, title, and negotiated obligations.
- 04 · Estimated netWhat reaches the seller
Build this line from a property-specific net sheet before choosing a list price.
Only documentary stamp tax has a statewide rule of thumb here. Every other line must be calculated from the property, contract, and county custom.
The predictable line items
Florida charges documentary stamp tax on the deed, statewide at seventy cents per hundred dollars of price (Miami-Dade calculates slightly differently for some property types). On a $600,000 sale that is roughly $4,200 before anything else. Title insurance and settlement fees follow county custom on who pays, and the custom differs across South Florida counties, which surprises people who have sold here before but in a different county.
- Documentary stamps on the deed, roughly 0.7 percent statewide
- Owner's title policy and settlement fees, per county custom and contract
- Mortgage payoff including per-diem interest and any recording fees
- Property tax proration for the months you owned
- Condo or HOA estoppel fees, plus any open assessments, which follow the unit
Commission is a conversation
Commission is negotiable and always has been, and recent industry changes made the buyer-side piece an explicit decision rather than an assumption. What a seller offers the buyer's side is now a strategy question: it affects who shows the home and how offers arrive. That deserves an actual conversation about your specific property and price point rather than a default.
The costs people forget
Pre-listing repairs and paint, staging where the property calls for it, and the overlap period if you buy before your sale closes. None of these are large individually. Together they are usually the difference between the net you expected and the net you get. I prepare a written net sheet for every listing appointment so the number you plan around is the real one.