Water and Wealth
When completed, this property on South Venetian Causeway in Miami will be on the market for $9 million. More Photos >
Getting to know South Florida means wrapping your brain around a roughly 250-mile stretch devoted to sun and surf, and all the pastimes that go with them. From the island city of Key West to the country-club-filled municipalities of northern Palm Beach County, people more or less live to golf, play tennis, go boating, fishing or Jet Skiing, or simply indulge in a midday siesta.
Palm Beach's Worth Avenue is known for its chic boutiques. More Photos »
Add in the nightlife, the dining and the increasingly multicultural flavor of the region — with a particular emphasis on all things Latin — and you have a prime spot for second-home buyers, retirees or those just seeking a respite from cold.
But the region’s sheer size and range of recreational activities dictate that no two destinations within it are quite alike. In addition, the real estate boom of recent years has considerably changed the landscape, resulting in many more condos and gated communities.
South Florida is less overwhelming if considered county by county. There are four, each anchored by a few key cities or locations, starting with Monroe (the Florida Keys) in the south and moving northward to Miami-Dade (Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach); Broward (Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Weston); and Palm Beach (Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter).
There are significant differences, especially as you travel westward from the aquatic-minded municipalities along the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway to the more golf, tennis and equestrian-friendly ones inland.
MONROE COUNTY
When Jimmy Buffett sang of “wasting away again in Margaritaville,” he could well have been referring to the Florida Keys, a chain of islands, more than 100 miles long, connected by bridges, that constitutes most of Monroe County. A laid-back lifestyle permeates the Keys, a kind of America gone Caribbean, with an emphasis on tiki-bar socializing and sun worship (though not the beach-blanket kind; most Keys seafront is too rocky for that).
Each section of the Keys attracts its own kind of reveler. At the chain’s southwestern tip, Key West is in every way an island unto itself — on the one hand, a Bohemian-style, mostly walkable, gay- and artist-friendly community reminiscent of midcentury Greenwich Village; on the other a boozy, tourist-driven tropical town.
Big Pine Key is considered the gateway to the less developed Lower Keys, where the vibe is fairly peaceful, while the slightly more commercial Upper and Middle Keys (Key Largo, Islamorada and Marathon) appeal to those who want to be relatively close to Miami and who are most interested in boating, fishing, snorkeling and scuba-diving. In other words, the Keys are to some Miamians what the Hamptons are to some New Yorkers.
Running through all the Keys is Route 1. You’ll find plenty of shops and restaurants on both sides of it; if you’re dining, a slice of Key lime pie, the official state pie, is a must. You can view the water from many vantage points — the Atlantic Ocean on one side, Florida Bay on the other — but it’s hard to beat the view from the famed Seven-Mile Bridge, which connects the Middle to the Lower Keys.
Of course, all this has its price. The cost of housing in Monroe County is among the highest in all of Florida: In 2005, the average sales price of a single-family home was $911,000, according to one published report. In 2001, that same average price was $353,000.
In the historic, pedestrian-oriented Old Town section of Key West, it would be hard to find a home for less than $1.5 million and prices can go much higher. Similarly, the minimum price for a condo in Key West hovers around $400,000.
The reason for the high prices? There is very little “raw land” for new construction in Key West, says Terri Spottswood, an agent with Truman and Company. The rest of the Keys have more undeveloped land, but most is protected by restrictive laws.
Prices can be cheaper as you head north, though there is no hard and fast rule — particularly with waterfront property anywhere along the chain. Lorie Rhyne, an agent with Marr Properties in Key Largo, says non-waterfront single-family homes range from $300,000 to $800,000 in the Upper Keys; by contrast, waterfront properties top out at $7.5 million. “We have everything from the affordable to the fabulous,” she said.
Another option in the Keys for the budget-minded are manufactured homes (a k a trailers), though these can cost well above a half-million dollars in some parts. The Keys are also seeing a few condo-hotel projects, a hot trend throughout South Florida in which hotel units are individually owned. Cheeca Lodge, a resort in Islamorada, sold out its first phase of condo-hotel units and has recently added a second one, with prices starting at $500,000.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
South Florida’s big-city scene can be found in Miami-Dade, home to celebrities, fashionistas and the Miami Heat. The heart of South Florida’s Latin community is there, too: Hispanic groups from Cubans to Colombians are all represented, and their combined presence lends the county a vibrant flavor.
The area draws people from New York and Europe as well as Central and South America. The oceanside city of Miami Beach, in particular its South Beach section, is a hot spot, with a lively club scene. And some of the nearby islands — Key Biscayne, Fisher Island — appeal to those seeking the waterfront lifestyle.
But the real focus these days has turned inland, to downtown Miami, which has seen a boom in condo construction. About 10,000 have already been built, and 15,000 more are on the drawing boards. The growth is tied in large part to the new $400 million Miami Performing Arts Center, which is set to open in the fall.
“All the development is vertical,” said Patrick M. O’Connell, a senior vice president with the real estate firm of Esslinger, Wooten and Maxwell, noting that there was not much unused land close to the city to build houses.
One growing area on the water is Sunny Isles Beach, a formerly retiree-dominated community north of Miami Beach that has seen an influx of younger buyers and an accompanying boom in condo construction. Donald Trump has his name on two new projects there.
Other popular locales include the Coconut Grove neighborhood in Miami and the city of Coral Gables, both south of downtown Miami and both known for Spanish-style homes. Also to the south is Dadeland (with its popular Dadeland Mall), an area undergoing its own condo boom, having become popular with second-home buyers from South America. “They come for shopping trips,” Mr. O’Connell said.
Despite the recent cooling in the housing market, prices remain high in Miami-Dade. The median price of a single-family home is close to $380,000; for a condo, it’s just slightly above $250,000.
Of course, in choice areas prices can be much higher. “You can’t really buy anything in Miami Beach for less than $2 million for a single-family home,” said Nelson Gonzalez, an agent with Esslinger, Wooten and Maxwell who specializes in properties selling for as much as $40 million. He added that the bayfront side of Miami Beach — particularly North Bay Road, with its impressive views of downtown Miami — is the area most popular with celebrities. The newest addition to the street, according to reports, is the wrestler Hulk Hogan.
Prices are not much cheaper in Sunny Isles Beach, where condos on the low end go for $650,000.
Looking beyond the beach, you will find a drop in prices: In Coral Gables, the starting figure is about $500,000 for single-family homes, although select properties can still top $10 million. As for those downtown Miami condos, prices range from about $300,000 to $2 million or so. The Dadeland area is slightly cheaper: One of the newest projects, a 396-unit, 25-story tower called Toscano, has one-bedroom condos starting about $275,000.
BROWARD COUNTY
There was a time when Broward County was defined as a haven for both retirees and Spring Breakers (as in the decades-old film “Where the Boys Are”).
These days that dynamic has changed, with an influx of baby boomers from all over the country, as well as buyers from South America. At Fort Lauderdale’s beach, mom-and-pop motels have increasingly given way to towering condos and hotels. Meanwhile, on the city’s canal-lined sections — its reputation as the Venice of America is not without merit — even small homes can look grand. The downtown, too, has undergone an evolution: Las Olas Boulevard, the main strip, is lined with trendy restaurants and stores; condos are going up.
There is also big development to the south. In Hollywood, once a fairly quiet community, millions are being poured into projects along the beach and downtown, where the site of the main traffic circle is being transformed into an arts-oriented district. The growth is being fueled in part by Hollywood’s location midway between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, said Scott Patterson, an agent with the Esslinger, Wooten and Maxwell. “It’s in the center of the universe of the market,” is how he put it.
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, an ambitious Hollywood complex housing more than a dozen clubs and restaurants, opened in 2004, adding a Vegas-like flavor to the area.
There are fewer and fewer new subdivisions in the suburban-oriented western communities: as with Miami-Dade, there is simply not much untapped land. Yet Weston, Miramar and Pembroke Pines are still growing. Weston has become popular with Venezuelans seeking second homes, while in Miramar and Pembroke Pines, new-home prices have recently topped $1 million.
Broward also remains popular with gay buyers, especially the city of Wilton Manors.
As far as prices go, they are on par with Miami-Dade for single-family homes (the median is around $380,000), but cheaper for condos (the median is $212,000).
But, yet again, for the most desirable locations, be prepared to dig deep in the wallet. Waterfront homes in and around Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood range from $2 million to $20 million, according to Mr. Patterson. Condos typically start around $400,000 for older construction and $600,000 for new.
A few noteworthy examples: At the recently opened Las Olas River House in downtown Lauderdale, remaining new units start at $1.4 million; at the Trump International Hotel & Tower and Trump Las Olas Beach Resort prices are to start at $500,000.
And while the west has million-dollar homes too, prices tend to be much lower: In Weston, for example, $350,000 has a lot more buying power.
PALM BEACH COUNTY
Many real estate insiders consider Palm Beach County the happening spot in South Florida. Though it lacks the sophistication of Miami and Fort Lauderdale and the tropical beauty of the Keys, it has room to grow, which means it typically draws what has been the residential bedrock of South Florida: retirees from the Northeast. It also appeals to a growing number of Europeans, according to real-estate agents.
New retiree and family-friendly subdivisions and golf-course communities continue to emerge, especially in northern municipalities like Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter. A major new condo project, Landmark at the Gardens, is planned for Palm Beach Gardens, where an outdoor shopping complex called Downtown at the Gardens recently opened.
All that goes hand in hand with the long-established society-oriented communities of Palm Beach and Boca Raton, which have lost none of their well-heeled splendor: Take a stroll down Worth Avenue in Palm Beach and you’ll see a lineup of retailers like Chopard, Armani, Cartier, Tourneau and Chanel.
These days the Palm Beach aura seems to be spilling over into West Palm Beach, as well as older residential neighborhoods like Flamingo Park and El Cid.
Finally, if you’re a horse lover, head west to Wellington, which is known for its equestrian shows and polo matches, and Jupiter Farms, which is a true rural outpost with horse farms aplenty.
The lifestyle doesn’t come cheap: The median price for single-family homes in the county has hovered around $400,000 for the past few months, though condos are about half that. In the growth areas of northern and central Palm Beach County, homes in new or newer communities rarely go for less than $400,000 and can easily exceed $4 million in places where golf is part of the mix. Despite a market slowdown, buyers haven’t stopped coming, largely because this is the very inventory lacking in the overdeveloped counties to the south.
“There’s a lot of appeal to new construction,” said John Mike, an agent with Prudential Florida WCI Realty.
In Palm Beach itself, anything goes. Non-waterfront homes start at $1.5 million or so, while the most expensive property, an 18-bedroom oceanfront mansion being renovated by the ubiquitous Donald Trump, has a $125 million asking price. That, according to Forbes magazine, makes it the most expensive piece of real estate in the country.
As for the West Palm Beach condo market, some say it is in trouble, but currently available units still typically startg in the $300,000’s. With the horsey set, in any case, money appears to be no object: Horse farms in Wellington can easily top $3 million, pony not included.
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