Market tour
What $700,000 buys in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach
By Doug Richman · about 5 min
Seven hundred thousand dollars is an interesting number in South Florida because it sits right on the fault line: comfortably above the median in some neighborhoods, priced out of others entirely. Where you spend it determines whether you get a turnkey house, a condo with a view, or a project.
Miami-Dade: the condo county
In Miami-Dade, $700,000 is largely a condo budget once you get east of I-95. In Brickell, Edgewater, or Miami Beach it buys a well-located one or two bedroom in a full-service building, with the exact size depending heavily on the building's age and amenities. The same money west of the highway starts reaching single-family homes, though inventory moves fast and lot sizes run small.
The number that matters as much as price here is the building itself: its reserves, its insurance, and where it stands on milestone inspections. Two identical-looking condos at the same price can be wildly different purchases once you read the association documents.
Broward: the single-family middle
Broward is where $700,000 does its broadest work. In Fort Lauderdale it buys a solid single-family home in neighborhoods like Coral Ridge Isles or Tarpon River adjacent areas, and in the western suburbs (Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, Plantation) it reaches four-bedroom family houses, sometimes with a pool.
Waterfront changes the math completely. Ocean-access canal homes in Fort Lauderdale start well above this budget, but non-ocean-access water and lake communities keep some water views in range.
Palm Beach County: range and value
Palm Beach County has the widest spread. In Boca Raton, $700,000 is a competitive budget for a renovated home in a non-gated east-side neighborhood or a large home in the gated communities west of town. Move north through Delray Beach, Boynton, and West Palm Beach and the budget stretches further, with the arts district and downtown West Palm seeing the fastest appreciation in recent years.
Country club communities deserve a special note: some listings look like bargains until you price the mandatory membership. Always ask.
How to actually use this
County-level generalities are a starting point, not an answer. The honest way to shop a $700,000 budget is to pick two or three specific neighborhoods and watch what actually closes there for sixty days. I can set that up as a saved search and send you every closing so you calibrate on real numbers rather than listing prices.