Guide To Florida New Oceanfront Condos

Posted: October 6, 2018

With good weather, low taxes and affordable real estate, more people are moving to Florida. According to the United States Census Bureau, Florida gained more people than California between July 2014 and July 2015. It is now the third most populous U.S. state, jumping ahead of New York. Many of Florida’s new arrivals are hoping for an oceanfront condominium.

There are many possibilities near Florida’s beaches and big differences in price. South Florida is going to be the most expensive home-buying area; Central Florida and the Panhandle area are going to have much better pricing. According to the real estate website Trulia, the median listing price for beach area in Miami Beach is $599,000, but $365,888 in Pompano Beach and just $182,500 in Panama City Beach.

While South Florida home prices are not increasing at the double-digit rates seen from 2013 to 2015, prices are at their highest levels since 2007 and anything near the ocean in Miami Beach has become unaffordable for most buyers. Some Florida condo developers have moved about 25 miles north to Fort Lauderdale where land prices are much lower. According to Peter Zalewski, head of a South Florida condominium construction database, Fort Lauderdale condos represent roughly a 40 percent discount from similar properties in Miami Beach.

For the best Florida beach deals, head north. Panama City Beach is consistently rated as one of the best beaches in the world and still has leftover inventory from the Florida condo bust days. Almost new condos on the Gulf of Mexico with resort-style amenities are available starting in the low $100s. In Central Florida, a developer in Daytona Beach Shores, a small beach town bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway, is offering three bedroom pre-construction beach condos with ocean views from the $400s. It is the best price-per-square-foot new oceanfront in Florida – about 70 percent lower than the price of new construction in Miami Beach.

After years of almost no new construction outside of Miami Beach, new condo projects near the ocean have picked up with pre-construction buildings in Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach and Destin – prices ranging from the $400s. With millions of baby boomers reaching retirement age, internationals who love Florida, and about 1,000 new people moving to Florida every day, oceanfront real estate prices are sure to go up.