How much is a Sunny Isles Beach condo worth this fall? It depends on which public number you trust. In Q2 2026, the city's median condo and townhome sale price was $550,000, down 23.6% from a year earlier. That's the figure that ends up in headlines. In Q1 2026 it looked worse: a $465,000 median, down 41.1%.
The Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser looked at the same city and found condo values down 3.5% for 2026, with the average unit valued at around $1 million, the Miami Herald reported in June.
These two numbers don't contradict each other. They measure different things. The median shows which units changed hands in a given quarter. In Sunny Isles Beach right now, that mix is moving much faster than the underlying value of any one apartment.
The figure buyers bring to the table
This matters most once an offer is on the table. A buyer who saw "down 24%" expects sellers to give up a lot. The Q2 2026 data shows something different. The median seller received 91.0% of the original list price, which is 2.9 points better than a year earlier, and the median listing took 165 days to go under contract. So listings are taking a long time to sell, but they aren't selling at a quarter off.
These are the three ways to measure the same city:
| Yardstick | Period | Sunny Isles Beach figure | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| MLS median sale price | Q2 2026 | $550,000, down 23.6% | The middle sale among the units that happened to close |
| MLS average sale price | Q2 2026 | $1,558,848, down 10.1% | Total dollars divided by 172 closings, pulled up by large sales |
| Property Appraiser condo values | 2026 roll | Down 3.5%, average unit around $1 million | Assessed value across the whole condo stock, sold or not |
The appraiser's number and the MLS numbers come from different methods, so the gap between them can't be read as a precise discount. Still, the gap is wide. A 3.5% change in assessed value next to a 23.6% change in the sale median points to a change in what sold, not a collapse in what units are worth.
A median moves when the mix moves
The median sale is just the one in the middle of the quarter's closings. If more modest units close in one quarter and fewer prime units do, the median falls, even if no individual apartment lost value.
Sunny Isles Beach is unusually exposed to this because its prices are so spread out. In Q2 2026 the average sale was about 2.8 times the median. Those 172 closings added up to $268.1 million in volume. In a city with that much spread, a few more sales from one end of the range can shift the median far more than any real change in value.
The quarterly numbers show this. The Q1 2026 median was $465,000, and the Q2 median was $550,000. That's a jump of nearly a fifth in three months, in a market that's supposed to be falling. Apartments didn't gain that much value in one season. A different set of units closed.
What sits above the average
The top of the market is a separate economy. In September, The Real Deal reported that a Trump Group affiliate sold a 52nd-floor penthouse at the Estates at Acqualina, 17975 Collins Avenue, for $33 million. That's the most expensive sale in the tower so far. The six-bedroom unit measures about 8,858 square feet and had been listed at $35 million. The same report says another six-bedroom Estates unit sold earlier this year for $21.6 million, which works out to $2,800 per square foot. Its seller had paid $17.9 million in 2025.
A single closing like that adds as much dollar volume as dozens of median-priced sales. It barely changes the median, though, since it counts as just one more sale above the middle. That's why the average fell only 10.1% while the median fell 23.6%. The Property Appraiser's view of the high end lines up with this. In the Herald's report, Tomás Regalado described the luxury condo market as "flat."
What sits below the median
The downward pressure is coming from the lower end of the stock. Here's how the Herald summed up the countywide trend:
"Condo values, particularly in older buildings, have been slipping since the Champlain Towers collapse in Surfside five years ago."
The same Miami Herald report explains that state laws passed after the collapse require more frequent inspections and larger repair reserves. Those costs are more than some owners can afford, and some have sold at a discount. Regalado put it plainly: "Older condos are dropping in value." WLRN reported in March that lower-priced and older condos have been pulling the region's median condo prices down, and linked the inspection and reserve rules to special assessments and higher monthly fees in some buildings.
A MIAMI REALTORS analysis of 2025 listings, mostly in Miami-Dade and Broward, found that condos 25 years and older had a median of 78 days on market, compared with 93 days for newer ones. Older units aren't stuck. They sell, and often at lower prices, which is exactly how a larger share of them closing pulls the median down without dragging the whole city's value with it.
Supply tightened while the median fell
If Sunny Isles Beach were in a broad price collapse, you'd expect inventory to be piling up. In Q2 2026 it went the other way:
- Active listings fell 13.9% to 1,076
- Months of supply fell 22.7% to 19.8
- New listings fell 7.0% to 410
- New pending sales rose 13.1% to 181, and pending listings rose 30.6% to 94
At nearly 20 months, supply is still high, and buyers still have time and choices. But the trend is toward fewer listings and more contracts. That pattern matches a market where buyers keep absorbing lower-priced units as they come up.
Cash is also a big part of what keeps this market moving. In Q2 2026, 121 of the 172 closings were paid in cash, up 9.0% from a year earlier.
The next new tower is a 2028 contract
The other side of this market is supply that doesn't exist yet. None of the near-term branded oceanfront towers in recent reporting is set to finish before 2028.
- St. Regis Residences Sunny Isles, 18801 Collins Avenue, from Château Group and Fortune International Group. The 170-unit south tower is nearly sold out and expected to finish in 2028. Construction on the 150-unit north tower was set to start later in 2026. Remaining units start at $5 million, and total construction financing has reached $532.1 million, The Real Deal reported in April.
- Bentley Residences, 18401 Collins Avenue, from Dezer Development. This 216-unit, 61-story tower was more than 50% presold as of that report and has a $630 million construction loan. A July 2026 development tracker from Haute Living lists both towers for 2028.
- The Miami Beach Club tower, a Related Group, Dezer Development and BH Group project on the former Miami Beach Club site. Anticipated completion is December 2031, according to The Real Deal.
This affects buyers in a concrete way. For roughly the next two years, anyone shopping in Sunny Isles Beach is choosing between move-in-ready resale units and preconstruction contracts with deposits and 2028 keys. Both of those markets set prices building by building. A $5 million starting price at the St. Regis and a sub-$550,000 resale come from completely different pools. The city median puts them in the same pile.
So the useful comparison isn't the city's median. It's the recent closings in the one building you're considering, plus that building's own documents. In Florida, resale buyers receive the association's milestone inspection summary and structural integrity reserve study, and those show how much of the post-Surfside cost a building has already funded and how much is still ahead.
Quick answers
Did Sunny Isles Beach condo prices drop 24% in 2026? The Q2 2026 median sale price dropped 23.6%. The Property Appraiser's 2026 condo values for the city fell 3.5%. The median follows the mix of units that sold, and lower-priced units made up more of that mix.
When is newer data coming? The Q2 report lists Friday, October 16, 2026, as the next quarterly release date. The Q2 figures here are the latest city-level data available as of October 12, 2026.
How did nearby cities compare? In the same 2026 appraiser data, Aventura condo values fell 4.2%. Bal Harbour rose 1.2% and Surfside rose 0.7%, and both have average unit values above $2 million.
If you're weighing a Sunny Isles Beach resale against a 2028 preconstruction contract, the real comparison is building by building, and the citywide median won't tell you much. Christopher Ulloa can walk you through recent closings in the towers you're considering and go over their association documents with you, in English or Spanish. Let's connect and find your Miami condo or development opportunity.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
