The $1M+ condo and townhouse market along our coastal corridor continues to write two very different stories depending on where you look — and separating those two narratives is perhaps the most valuable thing I can do for my clients.

The headline number that makes buyers optimistic: sales volume in the Northeast Broward oceanfront condo market is up 38.7% year-over-year, and inventory, while still elevated, is expected to absorb more rapidly as the market enters its summer cycle. There is genuine buying activity, and buyers who have been patient are finding that their patience is now translating into real negotiating leverage — particularly in buildings that have sat on the market through two or three seasonal cycles. Pompano Beach oceanfront condo prices have been relatively flat for three years, but demand is increasing, making this sub-market one of the more interesting value plays in our corridor right now for cash buyers who are willing to do their homework on building financials.

The more nuanced story: not all inventory is equal, and that gap is widening. Older condos away from the coastal core may face modest pricing pressure as inventory rises and buyers scrutinize building age, renovation needs, and association economics. That segment can soften. Buyers in the $1M–$3M condo tier are more financially sophisticated than ever, and they are doing deep diligence on HOA reserves, special assessment history, milestone inspection compliance, and insurance costs before they write a check. In a market where post-Surfside Florida legislation has raised the bar on building accountability, that scrutiny is not going away — and sellers in older buildings who have not addressed these questions proactively are finding their pricing conversations to be difficult ones.

The premium assets are doing what premium assets do: holding. Trophy oceanfront residences — the kind with private elevators, direct ocean views, resort-caliber amenity packages, and buildings that have cleared every regulatory hurdle ahead of schedule — are still transacting at or near record price-per-square-foot figures. Oceanfront and waterfront properties along the A1A corridor and Intracoastal Waterway continue to command premium prices due to limited new oceanfront supply and strong buyer demand for turnkey, renovation-ready units. Cash remains the dominant currency at the top of this market, and cash buyers are using speed and certainty as their primary negotiating tool.

My strategy for this market, for both buyers and sellers, is the same: precision. Broad optimism is not enough here. Buyers are comparing more inventory, scrutinizing building quality, and pushing back when pricing runs ahead of the property’s true position. For sellers, the path to liquidity is through transparency and differentiation. For buyers, the path to value is through patience, cash, and a willingness to move decisively when the right asset — in the right building, at the right price — appears.

May traditionally marks the hinge point in South Florida’s luxury calendar — the moment when the season’s momentum either carries into summer or begins to taper. This year, the evidence suggests the former, and for reasons that are structural rather than seasonal. Fort Lauderdale enters this period with the fundamentals luxury markets crave: limited inventory, powerful waterfront appeal, and a steady influx of wealth reshaping South Florida’s upper tiers. The summer slowdown, when it comes, will be a cooling of velocity — not a retreat from value.

Broward single-family inventory has dropped to just 4.6 months of supply, which is firmly in balanced-to-seller territory and represents a meaningful tightening from where we were just six months ago. That number is doing important work: it is putting a floor under pricing for well-positioned assets even as buyer traffic naturally thins. The sellers who will win in June, July, and August are those who understand that summer buyers in this price tier are not casual — they are often the most motivated, best-capitalized, and least distracted buyers of the year. They are not here for a weekend. They are here to buy.

What I am watching most closely heading into the second half of the year is the divergence between the sub-markets. Fort Lauderdale entered 2026 with renewed momentum building through the winter, and that momentum has not yet exhausted itself. The Las Olas Isles, Seven Isles, Harbor Beach, and deep-water Coral Ridge waterfront neighborhoods continue to attract significant capital at price points that would have seemed aspirational three years ago. Further north, Lighthouse Point’s resilience is increasingly structural — not cyclical. The school district, the boating access, and the relative value versus Fort Lauderdale’s core are permanent arguments, not seasonal ones. And Pompano Beach’s oceanfront corridor remains, in my view, the corridor’s most compelling value play for buyers who want true water access without the waterfront trophy price tag.

My bottom line for this summer: we will likely see more buyer activity and increased competition heading into the second half of the year, particularly if macroeconomic conditions stabilize. If you have been thinking about listing, the window between now and Labor Day deserves a serious conversation. If you are a buyer watching from the sidelines — the homes you are waiting to get cheaper are, in many cases, getting more expensive.