To reach the upper price scales of Fort Lauderdale’s home listings, a few things are a must: water on at least two sides (a peninsula even better) and the ability to dock a yacht of significant length alongside the home.
Ideally, the house should be newly built (or renovated), with space tailored for hosting large events and waterfront soirées. Private pickleball courts, a car collector’s garage, even a two-story flat screen visible to boaters passing by — all nice touches that can push the asking price higher.
These are the defining features of Fort Lauderdale’s latest crop of ultra-luxury homes, where top listings hover as high as $49 million. A new contender at $65 million is coming in November, said Chad Carroll, a broker with Compass known for luxury listings in Miami and Palm Beach, who is currently marketing two of Fort Lauderdale’s priciest homes, at $39 million each.
One is 600 Isle of Palms Drive. It’s a 15,000-square-foot “resort-style home” with eight ensuite bedrooms, including two primary suites (one finished in rare Fijian stone). But this isn’t just a house for sleeping in — it’s a party palace with vast entertaining areas including eight bars, a wine cellar and a rooftop terrace. The property also includes two pools, two hot tubs, an outdoor amphitheater and 300 feet of waterfront. “It’s built for pure entertainment,” said Carroll.
Seconds away by boat, or 10 minutes by car is 1400 West Lake Drive, which share its neighbor’s price tag. Currently under construction, it’s shaping into a 10,400-square-foot, three-story residence, on 250 feet of waterfront that can hold multiple boats. Expected to be completed in March, it will include seven bedrooms, a wellness center, a game room, and a three-car garage with lifts. Outdoors, the grounds include multiple pools, hot and cold plunges, plus waterfalls and fire features.
“Price points have increased substantially over the last two years,” Carroll said. “The wealth migration has been enormous. People are physically relocating their families and moving here, so they want something comparable to what they’re accustomed to in California, New York and Connecticut.”
The median sale price of a Fort Lauderdale luxury home (defined as the top 10% by price) jumped 20% year-over-year in the third quarter to $3.65 million, according to Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman Real Estate. And ultra-luxury supply is finally catching up: Nineteen single-family homes priced at $10 million or higher hit the Broward County market in September — compared with none a year before.
The record for Fort Lauderdale’s most expensive home sale was set just last year, when financier Donald Sussman sold his waterfront estate at 5 Harborage Isle for $70 million. Nothing currently listed rivals that figure, but Carroll says demand for ultra-luxury properties remains strong, driven by high-net-worth buyers who view Fort Lauderdale as a relative bargain compared to Palm Beach or Miami Beach (where the median price of luxury homes is $17.2 million and $21.5 million respectively).
Currently, the priciest single-family on the market is 516 Mola Ave., which is asking $49.99 million. Located on a private peninsula once owned by the late Blockbuster Video mogul Wayne Huizenga, it’s a newly built, 10,000-square-foot spread designed by architect Max Strang. The property has 740 feet of waterfront on three sides — enough to easily dock a 150- to 200-foot yacht, said listing broker Tim Elmes of Compass.
The home’s cantilever design makes it appear to float above the water. It also includes a pickleball court, a movie theater, separate guest quarters and an adjacent deeded lot that offers buffer from neighboring properties or the option to build an added residence, Elmes said.
Then, at opposite ends on the single-street island of Isla Bahia Drive within Fort Lauderdale’s gated Harbor Beach community, two mansion are gunning for similarly sky-high prices.
At 1 Isla Bahia Drive, an extensive renovation was complete in September on the sprawling estate that includes a main residence and a two-story guest house that totals to 14,000 square feet, six bedrooms and 13 baths. Set on a 343-foot point on the island’s western terminus, the property provides 170 feet of protected deep-water dockage and access to a private marina and beach, “perfect for yachting enthusiasts,” the listing with Compass’s Sheryl Hodor cooed. The renovation added a glass elevator and a four-car garage that can be expanded to hold eight vehicles. It’s asking $42.5 million.
Across the island, No. 84 occupies the island’s easternmost point with 300 feet of waterfront offering sweeping Intracoastal views. The three-level residence is tricked out with soaring ceilings, custom closets, smart home technology — not to mention four fireplaces, six wet bars and a commercial-grade elevator.
Upstairs, there is a top-floor lounge that’s all about views, while downstairs an infinity-edge pool, a waterfront terrace and a private dock set the scene. It’s asking $45 million with Amy Carpenter of duPont Registry Realty.
But if there is a magic number in the “Venice of America,” it’s clearly $39.99 million. That’s also what 1845 SE 7th St. is asking. Planted just across the water from 1 Isla Bahia Drive, it’s a three-story waterfront estate with a roof deck on top, seven bedrooms and expansive views of the Intracoastal.
The property includes 250 feet of deep-water frontage — enough to accommodate a sizable yacht — and features a 23-foot, two-story TV screen “so big you can see it from the Intracoastal if the shades are up,” Elmes, the listing agent, said.
Outside, the pool’s walls are made of 4-inch-thick glass which offer Intracoastal views from underwater.
Fort Lauderdale “allows you to have larger estate-type properties and more land because Palm Beach and Miami have been really low on ultra-luxury inventory,” said Carroll, whose team already surpassed $850 million in completed sales this year — beating out their COVID migration peak in 2021.
“Where else are you going to find over two acres of land and 200-plus feet on the ocean? 2025 will be a record year for us,” he said.
