BreakThru Realty

Cost to Sell a House in Palm Beach

Know what you would keep from your Palm Beach sale, line by line, before you decide to sell.

Every cost a Palm Beach seller pays at closing, what each one is, who customarily pays it in Palm Beach County, and how to estimate what you keep.

Reviewed by Tyson E. Sam, Founder and Broker of Record, BreakThru Realty, Florida License 3565210

Selling a house in Palm Beach has costs a seller can plan for: the Florida documentary stamp tax, title and closing charges, association estoppel fees, prorated property taxes and the brokerage commission. This page works through each one against the live Palm Beach sold prices, so the net proceeds are not a surprise at the closing table.

Palm Beach Market at a Glance

Updated November 7, 2026 from BeachesMLS.

Newest Palm Beach Homes for Sale

The 30 newest homes, condos and townhomes on the market in Palm Beach, straight from BeachesMLS. The 30 listings on this page run from $450,000 to $54,500,000, with a median of $2,322,500, about $1,783 per square foot, and they have been listed a median of 7 days.

  • The communities with the most listings here are Dorchester of Palm Beach (3), Cove (2), Ibis Isle (2), Peruvian Terrace (2) and Twenty Six Hundred (2), 11 of the 30; the others are spread across 19 more communities.
  • By type: 22 condos and 8 single-family homes.
  • Bedrooms run from 1 to 6, a median of 2; they were built between 1924 and 2026, a median of 1978, and 1 in the last ten years.
  • 8 of the 30 have a pool, and 20 are on the water.

See every Palm Beach home for sale with map and filters.

Single-family homesCondos & townhomes
Active listings72160
Median list price$19,200,000$1,697,500
Median list price per sq ft$4,059/sq ft$1,151/sq ft
Average days on market174 days128 days
Sold in the last 90 days2146
Median sold price (90 days)$12,000,000$1,060,000
Sale price as % of list price93.6%92.6%
Months of inventory10.3 months10.4 months
Median sold price vs. a year ago+39.5%-29.3%

Source: BeachesMLS. Active listings as of November 7, 2026; sold figures cover closings in the last 90 days, compared with the same 90 days one year earlier. Not an appraisal. How these figures are calculated.

The Costs of Selling a House in Palm Beach, in Order of Size

For most Palm Beach sellers the list runs: the mortgage payoff, the brokerage commission, the Florida documentary stamp tax on the deed, title and settlement charges, property taxes for the part of the year you owned the home, association fees and estoppel charges where there is an association, and whatever you agree with the buyer after inspection. None of them is paid up front. They are deducted from the sale price on the closing statement, and what is left is wired to you.

Documentary Stamp Tax in Palm Beach County

Florida charges a documentary stamp tax on every deed, customarily paid by the seller. In Palm Beach County, as in every Florida county except Miami-Dade, the rate is 70 cents per $100 of the sale price. On the median Palm Beach single family home sale of $12,000,000, that comes to about $84,000. It is calculated on the full price, not on your gain, and it is due at closing.

Title Insurance and Closing Charges in Palm Beach County

Who pays for the owner's title insurance policy is a matter of local custom, and it is written into the contract. In Palm Beach County the seller customarily chooses the title company and pays for the owner's policy, the reverse of Miami-Dade and Broward, where the buyer does. Florida sets title insurance premiums by a published rate, so the policy costs the same at any company and rises with the price. The seller also pays a settlement fee, a lien search, and the cost of clearing anything it turns up, such as an open permit or an unpaid utility balance. All of it is negotiable, so read the contract rather than relying on custom.

Property Taxes, Association Fees and Assessments

Florida property taxes are paid in arrears, so at closing the seller credits the buyer for the taxes from January 1 to the closing date; the later in the year you close, the larger that credit. If the home is in a condominium or a homeowners' association, the association charges for an estoppel certificate showing what is owed, a fee capped by Florida statute, and any unpaid dues are settled at closing. In Palm Beach's older condominium buildings, ask early about special assessments tied to the milestone inspection and the structural reserve study: the contract decides whether the seller or the buyer pays one that has been levied but not yet billed.

Repairs, Credits and Preparing the Home

After the inspection, most buyers ask for repairs or a credit. South Florida insurers care about four things, the roof, the electrical panel, the plumbing and the air conditioning, so a buyer's four point inspection tends to decide what is asked for. Knowing the roof's age and having permits closed before you list removes most surprises. Preparation costs (cleaning, paint, landscaping, staging) are optional, and we tell you which ones the Palm Beach comparables say will come back in the price and which will not.

Taxes on the Gain, and Foreign Sellers

Florida has no state income tax, so any tax on your gain is federal. Owners who lived in the home as their main residence for two of the last five years can usually exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly; investment and second homes do not qualify, which is where a 1031 exchange comes in. If the seller is a foreign person, the buyer is generally required under FIRPTA to withhold 15% of the sale price for the IRS unless an exception or a withholding certificate applies, something to plan for months before closing. This is general information, not tax advice; confirm your position with a CPA.

Estimating What You Keep

Net proceeds are the sale price less the mortgage payoff and the costs above. We prepare a written estimate for your address before you decide anything, using a valuation from matching Palm Beach sales and the actual Palm Beach County charges, and we put a guaranteed cash offer beside it if you want to compare a certain, as is sale with a listing. Request it with the form on this page.

Palm Beach Costs Beyond the County Norms

Selling in Palm Beach carries costs that a county average does not show. House buyers order surveys, flood elevation checks and inspections of the roof, the seawall and the dock, and on the ocean side they ask about the coastal construction line and any past seawall or dune work. Open permits and unapproved changes surface in the lien search, and on this island closing them out can mean going back through the town's architectural review, which takes time the contract may not allow. Estates often carry staff, landscaping and security contracts that must be ended or assigned. Moving furniture and art out of a large Palm Beach house takes planning, and some sellers agree to leave part of the furnishings in the sale.

Selling a Palm Beach Condo or Association Home

Selling a condominium or co-op in Palm Beach runs on the board's calendar. Each building sets its own application, fee and approval process, co-ops add an interview and often limits on financing, and some boards meet less often outside the winter season, when owners are away, which can slow a closing. A right of first refusal, where a building holds one, adds a waiting period. Buyers ask for the milestone inspection report, the structural reserve study, the budget and any approved assessment before they commit, so a Palm Beach seller should have them in hand at launch. The same preparation applies at Sloan's Curve and Ibis Isle, where several associations with different rules sit side by side.

When Palm Beach Sellers Close Fastest

Palm Beach sellers close fastest when the listing is ready as the winter season begins, because that is when the island fills with buyers who can see a house in person and act before they leave. A house listed in spring meets the last of them, and one listed in summer often waits for autumn. Hurricane season from June to November can pause an insurance binder when a storm is named, which pushes a closing back. Cash purchases are common on the island, so a Palm Beach house with clean permits and a clear survey can close quickly, while a condominium or co-op sale depends on the board's approval schedule and should be planned around it from the start.

Recently Sold in Palm Beach

The newest closings in Palm Beach, with the sale price, closing date and days on market for each.

Recently sold homes in Palm Beach

What Is Your Palm Beach Home Worth?

Request a free valuation built on recent Palm Beach sales, or a full comparative market analysis before you list. No fee, no obligation, and a licensed broker answers within one business day.

Cost to Sell: Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to sell a house in Palm Beach?
Apart from the mortgage payoff, a Palm Beach seller pays the brokerage commission, the Florida documentary stamp tax on the deed, title and settlement charges, prorated property taxes, any association estoppel fee and unpaid dues, and whatever repairs or credits are agreed after inspection. Everything is deducted at closing; nothing is paid up front. We prepare a written net proceeds estimate for your address before you decide.
How much are documentary stamps on a home sale in Palm Beach County?
In Palm Beach County the documentary stamp tax on a deed is 70 cents per $100 of the sale price, the rate in every Florida county except Miami-Dade. On the median Palm Beach single family home sale of $12,000,000, that is about $84,000. The seller customarily pays it.
Who pays for title insurance in Palm Beach County, the buyer or the seller?
By local custom the seller chooses the title company and pays for the owner's policy in Palm Beach County. In Miami-Dade and Broward the custom is reversed and the buyer pays. It is a custom, not a law, so the contract controls.
Do I pay capital gains tax when I sell my home in Florida?
Florida has no state income tax, so any tax on the gain is federal. If the home was your main residence for two of the last five years you can usually exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly. Second homes and rentals do not qualify. This is general information, not tax advice; confirm it with a CPA.
Do I have to make repairs before I sell?
No. You can sell as is, and the standard Florida as is contract gives the buyer an inspection period rather than a repair obligation. Repairs become a negotiation after the inspection, usually settled with a credit. If you would rather avoid showings and inspections altogether, ask us for the guaranteed cash offer and compare it with the listing estimate.

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