Buying a Condo in Sunny Isles Beach

Older mid-rises and new oceanfront towers

Census data shows 95.8% of homes in Sunny Isles Beach are in buildings with 10 or more units, and the median home dates to 1983. The city has two layers of condo stock. The first is older towers and mid-rises from the 1960s through the 1990s, many on the bay side or set back from the ocean. The second is the newer oceanfront towers built since the mid-2000s, including branded buildings such as Porsche Design Tower, Jade Signature and the Acqualina towers.

Those two groups behave like separate markets. Older buildings carry the same issues as aging condos across Florida: milestone inspections, reserve studies and assessments. Newer towers have modern construction and impact glass, but very high monthly fees and prices that move with a smaller, wealthier and often international pool of buyers.

What the bedroom data says

Zillow's typical values by bedroom count show how steep the split is:

• 1 bedroom: about $275,297
• 2 bedrooms: about $584,637
• 3 bedrooms: about $1,689,489
• 4 bedrooms: about $3,779,513

A three-bedroom costs nearly three times a two-bedroom. One- and two-bedroom units are concentrated in the older buildings, while three- and four-bedroom units are mostly in the newer oceanfront towers. If your budget is under $600,000, you are almost certainly shopping older buildings, and your due diligence should focus there.

Single-family homes are rare here, only 2.2% of the housing per Census data, and Zillow puts the typical one at about $1,397,103, up 10.3% for the year. For most buyers, that leaves condos as the only practical way to own in the city.

Due diligence on an older Sunny Isles building

Older towers in this city sit directly on or near the ocean, where salt air works on concrete and rebar every day. Florida's rules for condo buildings three or more habitable stories apply: a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year the building turns 30 (or 25 if the local building official requires), repeated every 10 years, and a Structural Integrity Reserve Study every 10 years. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners cannot waive or underfund SIRS reserves.

For these buildings, ask for:

• The milestone inspection report and the list of required repairs
• The SIRS and the current reserve balance
• Approved and proposed special assessments, and any association loan
• The master insurance policy, including the wind deductible and flood coverage

A lower price in an older building can be good value when the concrete work is finished and reserves are funded. It can be expensive when the work is still ahead.

Buying new construction or preconstruction

New towers in Sunny Isles are often sold years before completion. Florida law gives buyers of new-construction condos from a developer 15 days to cancel after signing or receiving the required documents. Deposits up to 10% of the price must be held in escrow; deposits above that can, under certain conditions, be used by the developer for construction. Read how your deposit schedule is structured and where each payment goes.

Developer contracts favor the developer on delivery dates, finishes and closing costs. Have the contract reviewed before the 15 days run out, and ask what the first-year budget assumes for insurance and reserves. First budgets in new buildings are sometimes set low and rise after the owners take control.

Foreign and second-home buyers

About 36.7% of homes in Sunny Isles Beach are seasonal, per Census data, one of the highest shares in South Florida. Many buyers here are from abroad or own the unit as a second home. Some rules that apply:

• No citizenship or residency is needed to buy, and buying does not give you a visa. EB-5 is a separate program that requires $800,000 (in a targeted area) or $1,050,000 into a job-creating business.
• Foreign national mortgages usually need 30% to 40% down, and the building must still pass the lender's review.
• Florida's SB 264 restricts buyers domiciled in China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela from buying near military sites and critical infrastructure, with broader limits for Chinese domiciliaries. Check before you sign.
• When a foreign owner later sells, the buyer generally withholds 15% of the price under FIRPTA, with reduced rates in some cases for buyers who will live in the home.

A second home gets no homestead exemption, and its non-school assessment can rise up to 10% a year. This isn't legal or tax advice; a cross-border tax advisor should review your ownership structure.

Closing costs in Miami-Dade

For condos in Miami-Dade, deed stamps are $0.60 per $100 plus a $0.45 per $100 surtax, usually paid by the seller. The buyer customarily pays the owner's title policy at the state-set rate. Buyers using a mortgage pay note stamps of $0.35 per $100 and a 0.2% intangible tax; on a $400,000 loan, that is about $1,400 and $800. On resale purchases, you have 7 days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, after receiving the association documents to cancel.

The best way to narrow this market is building by building. I can build a shortlist of towers that match your budget, with their inspection status and recent sales side by side.