South Florida’s Trophy Market in 2025: When Record Sales Become the Story
In South Florida, the top of the market is not merely resilient. It is narrative-driven. From a $120 million Star Island trade reported as a Miami-Dade single-family record to an $86 million condo penthouse widely covered as the county’s priciest condominium sale, 2025 reinforced a modern truth: in the trophy tier, price is only part of the product. The rest is provenance, privacy, design authorship, and the ability for a residence to function as cultural capital. This MILLION Luxury editorial unpacks what the year’s headline deals reveal about how ultra-luxury is marketed, negotiated, and valued across Miami-beach and Palm-beach, and what sophisticated buyers and sellers should watch next.
Miami’s Ultra-Luxury Rental Market: Six-Figure Leases, Turnkey Living, and When Renting Beats Buying
Six-figure monthly leases are no longer a curiosity in Miami. They are a definable, marketed tier shaped by trophy waterfront addresses, design-forward villa inventory, and a growing expectation of hospitality-level service. For high-net-worth residents and second-home buyers, the decision to rent can be less about compromise and more about control: controlling time, management burden, and all-in carrying costs while preserving flexibility in a market where top-end demand remains intense.
Miami's Luxury Neighborhood Guide: Brickell, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables & Miami Beach
From vertical city living in Brickell to the leafy bayfront calm of Coconut Grove, the heritage streets of Coral Gables and the oceanfront glamour of Miami Beach, this guide maps how Miami's four flagship luxury condo neighborhoods differ in architecture, lifestyle and buyer profile. It highlights branded towers, waterfront views, privacy and access to culture so discerning purchasers can align their next residence with how they actually want to live in Greater Miami.
Aman Miami Beach: Ultra-Exclusive Wellness Living on Collins Avenue
Aman Miami Beach brings the brand’s discreet, wellness focused lifestyle to Collins Avenue, uniting a restored 1940s Versailles Hotel with a new 18 story tower of just 22 Oceanfront residences by Kengo Kuma. Set directly on the sand beside the Faena District, the project combines Aman Spa facilities, a private beach club, resort level amenities and full hotel services with low density planning and profound privacy. The result is a rare sanctuary for global buyers seeking a peaceful, design forward base in Miami Beach.
How to Identify a True Ultra-Luxury Condo in Miami Beach
Miami Beach is full of glossy condo towers, but only a handful truly qualify as ultra luxury. For discerning buyers, the difference lies in irreplaceable waterfront land, world class architecture, estate scale floor plans, low density privacy and resort calibre services. Buildings such as The Perigon Miami Beach, Faena House Miami Beach, The Residences at Six Fisher Island and The Ritz-Carlton Residences® Miami Beach set the benchmark.
Fort Lauderdale vs. Miami Beach: The Ultimate Waterfront Living Showdown
Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach offer two distinct expressions of South Florida waterfront living. Fort Lauderdale’s canal-woven landscape favors yacht ownership, privacy, and a gentler residential rhythm, while Miami Beach delivers high-energy oceanfront glamour, a global cultural calendar, and brand-led towers. Both markets now feature expansive, service-rich residences that blend resort convenience with private-club discretion. This editorial compares ambiance, water access, and the marquee developments reshaping each skyline to help you decide which shoreline fits your lifestyle.
