Florida Market Guide

Miami & South Florida

• Coral Gables · Mediterranean estates. · $3M to $18M
• Bal Harbour · One square mile. · $2M to $25M+
• Miami Beach · International capital. · $1.5M to $30M+
• Brickell · Miami's financial capital. · $600K to $8M
• Coconut Grove · Miami's oldest neighborhood. · $2M to $15M
• Key Biscayne · Barrier island connected by one causeway. · $2M to $20M

West Coast Florida

• Naples · The West Coast's Palm Beach. · $2M to $30M+
• Sarasota · Cultural capital. · $1.5M to $15M
• Longboat Key · Twelve miles of private Gulf living. · $1.5M to $12M
• Tampa · Florida's fastest-growing HNW market. · $800K to $12M
• St. Petersburg · America's most surprising arts city. · $700K to $6M

Palm Beach County

• Palm Beach · $5M to $100M+
• Jupiter · $1.5M to $20M
• Wellington · The world's equestrian capital. · $1M to $15M

How Financing Changes From Market to Market

A $4M purchase in Bal Harbour and a $4M purchase in Naples are not the same loan. Condo markets bring association review, reserve studies and warrantability questions. Barrier islands bring wind, flood and elevation certificates that reshape the insurance escrow. Equestrian and acreage properties bring appraisal comparables that thin out quickly. The lender that clears one of these files is often not the lender that clears the next.

That is what a 126-lender network is for: the market determines the program, not the reverse.

What Underwriting Actually Examines in Coastal Florida

• Insurance before income. In coastal markets the premium can move the qualifying payment more than the rate does. We price insurance early so the file is underwritten against real numbers.
• Condo and association posture. Building reserves, litigation, deferred maintenance and investor concentration decide which lenders can lend at all in a given tower.
• Appraisal depth. Estate-class and waterfront properties often have few true comparables. Portfolio lenders tolerate this; agency channels do not.
• Ownership structure. LLCs, offshore holdings and family trusts are routine here, provided the lender's program contemplates them from the start.

Choosing the Market Before Choosing the Loan

Buyers arriving from abroad often decide on a price band before deciding on a corridor. It is usually more efficient in reverse. Brickell, Coral Gables, Naples and Palm Beach each carry a different financing profile at the same purchase price, different insurance exposure, different rental rules if the property is an investment, and different closing timelines.

Each market guide below sets out the price bands, property types and financing structures that actually close there.

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