Understanding the True Cost of Owning a $5M+ Home in South Florida (Beyond the Mortgage)
A discreet, buyer-forward guide to the real carrying costs behind South Florida’s luxury homes and condos in 2026: taxes, insurance, fees, maintenance, and staffing.
Miami vs. Palm Beach: Where Do Families Prefer to Live and Invest in 2026?
South Florida’s luxury market is being shaped less by local seasonality and more by durable global behavior: cross-border capital, tax-driven domestic migration, and a scarcity of irreplaceable coastal land. This 2026 lens matters because the market is no longer one monolithic “South Florida” story. Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County are moving at different speeds, with negotiating dynamics shifting alongside inventory and pricing behavior. For sophisticated buyers, the opportunity is in knowing where scarcity is structural, where pricing is normalizing, and how to underwrite lifestyle value with the same rigor as a balance sheet.
Top 5 Miami Beach Luxury Condos with Private Beach Access and Five-Star Amenities
Miami Beach’s oceanfront market has entered a rarified phase: buyers are no longer comparing buildings only by finishes or views, but by service culture, wellness programming, and long-term livability. In South Beach alone, condo pricing reached $1,538 per square foot in Q3 2025, a 37% year-over-year rise from $1,123 per square foot in Q3 2024, reshaping how value is assessed up and down Collins Avenue. This 2026 buyer’s guide ranks five headline oceanfront addresses and explains what discerning purchasers should evaluate before committing capital at the coastline’s highest echelon.
Appraisal Gaps in the High-End Market: What to Do if Your Dream Home Doesn’t Appraise for the Purchase Price
In South Florida’s luxury market, a signed contract is only one checkpoint on the path to closing. When a lender’s appraisal lands below the agreed purchase price, the resulting appraisal gap can force fast decisions on financing, negotiation, and risk allocation. For high-value properties where comparable sales are scarce, unique design choices are difficult to price, and jumbo underwriting can be stricter, the appraisal conversation becomes a core part of deal strategy. This guide outlines how appraisal gaps occur, why they can be more common in ultra-premium transactions, and which levers buyers and sellers can pull to keep a transaction elegant, rational, and on schedule.
Smart Home Privacy: What High-Net-Worth Buyers Should Consider Before Automating Everything
A discreet, buyer-oriented framework for securing smart residences in South Florida, from segmented networks and enterprise-grade hardware to access control, surveillance storage choices, and digital estate planning.
View Protection: How to Ensure Your Future Condo’s View Won’t Be Obstructed by New Development
In South Florida, a “protected view” is rarely a single promise. It is the combined effect of waterfront rights, zoning and height limits on nearby parcels, recorded restrictions, and the practical discipline of monitoring what can be built next door. This guide explains what typically holds up under scrutiny, where buyers overestimate protection, and how to structure diligence so your horizon remains an asset rather than a surprise.
