Most of Miami's best new addresses are sold years before they exist. By the time a tower tops off, the penthouse went to someone who signed in a sales gallery when the site was still a parking lot — usually at a price 30–50% below what the same line asks at delivery. That is the entire appeal of pre-construction, and also its entire risk: you are buying a contract, not a condo.
This playbook is the manual we wish every buyer read before walking into a sales gallery. It reflects how deals are actually structured in Miami in 2026 — and it links to our live pages for all ~50 projects currently selling, each with floor plans, pricing tiers and payment structures.
Why buy on paper at all
Launch pricing is the discount. Developers price the first release below the delivered-resale market to create momentum, then raise prices at every milestone — contract threshold met, groundbreaking, vertical progress, top-off. Buyers in the first releases of the last cycle's towers routinely closed with six and seven figures of paper appreciation before move-in.
You choose the line, not the leftovers. In a resale building you buy whatever happens to be on the market. On paper, early buyers pick the exact stack — the southeast corner, the floor above the neighboring roofline, the layout with the real water view. Years later, the difference between line 01 and line 04 is the difference between a trophy and an apology.
New code, new economics. Post-Surfside, Florida's structural-reserve rules (the SIRS regime) and the insurance market punished older buildings hard. A 2027-delivery tower carries current building code, a fully funded reserve schedule from day one, a new-construction insurance profile, and a decade of warranty runway — no special assessments hiding in the walls. We covered this dynamic in depth in our insurance-crisis briefing.
Your capital stays mostly deployed elsewhere. You typically part with 20–40% of the price spread over two to three years; the balance is due only at closing. For investors, that is leverage on the appreciation of 100% of the asset while funding a fraction of it.
And the honest other side: deliveries slip, markets move, and renders flatter. The rest of this playbook is about managing exactly those three risks.
The deposit schedule: where your money goes
Most Miami luxury towers use a variation of the 10/10/10/10/60 structure: 10% at reservation, 10% at hard contract, 10% at groundbreaking, 10% at top-off (or another construction milestone), and the remaining 60% at closing. Aggressive projects ask for 30–40% before closing; a few boutique buildings still close at 20% down.
On a $2.4M residence — the entry price at TULA Residences in North Bay Village, for example — that means roughly $240K to reserve, $480K total at contract, and just under $1M deployed by top-off, with ~$1.4M due at closing in 2027. Plan the cash-flow calendar before you fall in love with a floor plan.
Two pieces of Florida law every buyer should know. First, the 15-day rescission window: on a new-construction condo contract you have fifteen days after signing (and receiving the condo documents) to cancel for any reason and get every dollar back — this is your due-diligence period, use it. Second, escrow rules: your first 10% must sit in escrow untouched, but Florida law allows the developer to use deposits above 10% for actual construction costs once disclosed in the contract. Translation: from the second deposit on, your protection is the developer's balance sheet and construction lender — which is why vetting matters more than anything else in this market.
The timeline: from gallery to keys
A typical sequence runs: sales gallery launch and “friends & family” pricing → public launch → hard contract (15-day rescission) → 12–24 months of sales until the construction-loan threshold (usually 50–60% sold) → groundbreaking → 24–36 months vertical → certificate of occupancy → closing notices, typically 30 days to bring the balance → punch-list and move-in. End to end: two and a half to four years. Anyone promising better is selling you the render.
The dates in the brochure are targets, not commitments — contracts give developers wide delivery latitude (outside-date clauses often run to several years). Build your plans around the outside date, and treat anything earlier as a bonus.
What separates a good deal from a brochure
The developer's delivered record. Not announced — delivered. Miami's serious sponsors (Related, Terra, Mast Capital, Ytech, Fort Partners, the Continuum team) have towers you can walk into and HOAs you can call. A first-time developer with a spectacular render is a different risk class entirely; our who's-delivering-who's-stuck briefing tracks exactly this.
Construction financing in place. A closed construction loan from a named lender is the single strongest signal a tower gets built. “In discussions with lenders” is not a milestone.
A realistic HOA budget. Branded towers in Miami run $1.50–$3.00 per square foot per month. A developer budget meaningfully below that range isn't a gift — it's a first-year illusion that resets painfully when owners take over the board. Add property taxes at roughly 1.8–2.2% of your purchase price (Florida reassesses on sale) and model the true monthly carry before signing. Our HOA document guide shows what to pull apart.
What “finished” means. Some towers deliver turnkey; many deliver “designer-ready” — a polished concrete shell where flooring, closets and light fixtures are your budget line, often $150–$400 per square foot more. The brochure photo is always the furnished model.
The rental policy, in writing. Buildings like LOFTY Brickell and Domus are built for short-term flexibility; trophies like EDITION Residences are strictly residential. Neither is wrong — but buying the wrong one for your plan is.
The assignment clause. Can you sell your contract before closing? Many developers prohibit it or take a fee plus price control. If your strategy involves exiting before delivery, this paragraph of the contract is your entire strategy.
The view study. That bay view exists only until the parcel in front of you gets its own crane. Ask what is zoned, filed and rumored on every lot in your sightline — this is half of what a good local agent actually does.
The five mistakes we see most
1. Buying the render, not the line. The gallery sells a lifestyle; your contract specifies a unit number. Judge the stack, floor, exposure and layout as ruthlessly as you would a finished resale.
2. Ignoring the carry math. HOA plus taxes plus insurance on a $4M condo is easily $12–18K a month. The purchase price is the beginning of the conversation, not the end.
3. Assuming today's mortgage at closing. Your loan is priced at delivery, years from now — rate, lender appetite and your own profile can all move. Serious buyers stress-test the closing at materially higher rates, or plan to close in cash and finance later.
4. Skipping the delivery inspection. A certificate of occupancy is not a quality certificate. Walk the unit with an independent inspector, document the punch list before closing, and put the developer's one-year warranty to work in month one — our condo inspection guide covers the full checklist.
5. Walking into the gallery unrepresented. The polished team at the sales center works for the developer. Bringing your own agent costs you nothing — the developer pays the buyer-side commission at an identical purchase price — and gets you someone whose job is the comparison you are not being shown: the tower across the street, the resale alternative, the line they quietly stopped releasing. There is no version of this purchase where going alone is the smart play.
Where the pipeline is, area by area
Brickell carries the most consequential skyline in the country right now: Cipriani Residences (80 stories, 2027), St. Regis by Robert A.M. Stern, the 100-story Waldorf Astoria — the tallest residential tower south of Manhattan — 1428 Brickell by Antonio Citterio, Baccarat, Mercedes-Benz Places, Dolce & Gabbana, One Twenty, Una, and entry points at Smart Brickell II from the $550Ks. Context: our Brickell guide.
Edgewater & North Bay Village is where the bayfront value lives: EDITION Residences, Villa Miami by the Major Food Group team, The Cōve, LILLI, ELLE, Vida — and across the bridge, TULA (54 boutique flow-through residences from $2.4M, 2027) and Continuum Club & Residences (2029) are quietly repricing North Bay Village.
The Beaches are the trophy chapter: Rivage Bal Harbour, The Perigon, the Shore Club Private Collection, The Delmore, Faena Residences, Aman, Ritz-Carlton; in Sunny Isles, St. Regis and Bentley Residences with its car elevator; and for the island buyers, Six Fisher Island and Twenty-Nine Indian Creek.
The Grove, Gables & the creative core: Four Seasons Coconut Grove, OPUS, The Well and VITA at Grove Isle; plus Cloud One Wynwood, Midtown Park by Proper and Miami Tropic for the rental-flexible crowd. The full directory, with payment structures and floor plans for every project: bensimonluxury.com/preconstruction.
How allocation actually works
The best lines never reach the public launch. Developers release inventory in tranches — friends and family first, then top-producing brokers' clients, then the public — with prices stepping up at each tranche. Access at the early tranches is a relationship business: sales directors return calls from agents who close. That, more than any negotiation trick, is what buyer representation buys you in pre-construction Miami.
If a project on this page interests you, the conversation costs nothing: current price sheets, the lines still unreleased, the honest read on the sponsor. Li works these galleries every week — start here.
Las mejores nuevas direcciones de Miami se venden años antes de existir. Cuando una torre llega a su cima, el penthouse ya fue de alguien que firmó en una galería de ventas cuando el sitio era un estacionamiento — generalmente a un precio 30–50% menor de lo que la misma línea pide al entregarse. Ese es todo el atractivo de la pre-construcción, y también todo su riesgo: usted compra un contrato, no un condominio.
Este manual refleja cómo se estructuran realmente las operaciones en Miami en 2026 — y enlaza a nuestras páginas de los ~50 proyectos actualmente en venta, cada una con planos, precios y estructuras de pago.
Por qué comprar en planos
El precio de lanzamiento es el descuento. Los desarrolladores fijan la primera liberación por debajo del mercado de reventa entregado, y suben precios en cada hito — contrato, inicio de obra, avance vertical, tope. Los compradores de las primeras liberaciones del ciclo pasado cerraron rutinariamente con apreciación de seis y siete cifras antes de mudarse.
Usted elige la línea, no las sobras. En reventa compra lo que esté disponible. En planos, los primeros compradores eligen la esquina sureste, el piso sobre el techo vecino, la planta con la vista real al agua.
Código nuevo, economía nueva. Después de Surfside, las reglas de reservas estructurales y el mercado de seguros castigaron duro a los edificios viejos. Una torre con entrega 2027 trae código vigente, reservas financiadas desde el día uno y perfil de seguro de obra nueva — sin derramas escondidas. Lo cubrimos en nuestro informe sobre la crisis de seguros.
Su capital sigue trabajando en otro lado. Típicamente entrega 20–40% del precio repartido en dos o tres años; el saldo solo al cierre.
Y el otro lado honesto: las entregas se atrasan, los mercados se mueven y los renders favorecen. El resto del manual trata de esos tres riesgos.
El calendario de depósitos
La mayoría de las torres usa una variación del 10/10/10/10/60: 10% en reserva, 10% en contrato, 10% al iniciar obra, 10% al tope, y 60% al cierre. En una residencia de $2.4M — el precio de entrada en TULA Residences, por ejemplo — eso significa ~$240K para reservar, $480K al contrato, y casi $1M desplegado al tope, con ~$1.4M al cierre en 2027.
Dos puntos de ley de Florida: primero, la ventana de rescisión de 15 días — en un contrato de condominio nuevo puede cancelar por cualquier motivo dentro de 15 días y recuperar todo; es su período de due diligence. Segundo, las reglas de fideicomiso: su primer 10% queda intocable en escrow, pero la ley permite al desarrollador usar depósitos por encima del 10% para construcción si lo divulga en el contrato. Traducción: desde el segundo depósito, su protección es el balance del desarrollador — por eso la evaluación importa más que nada.
El cronograma: de la galería a las llaves
Lanzamiento de galería y precios “friends & family” → lanzamiento público → contrato (15 días de rescisión) → 12–24 meses de ventas hasta el umbral del crédito de construcción → inicio de obra → 24–36 meses verticales → certificado de ocupación → aviso de cierre, típicamente 30 días → punch list y mudanza. Total: de dos años y medio a cuatro. Las fechas del folleto son metas, no compromisos — planifique alrededor de la fecha límite del contrato.
Qué separa una buena operación de un folleto
El historial entregado del desarrollador — no anunciado: entregado. Nuestro informe de quién entrega y quién está atascado rastrea exactamente esto. Financiamiento de construcción cerrado con un prestamista con nombre. Un presupuesto de HOA realista: las torres de marca corren $1.50–$3.00 por pie cuadrado al mes; sume impuestos de ~1.8–2.2% del precio de compra y modele el costo mensual real — nuestra guía de documentos de HOA muestra qué revisar. Qué significa “terminado”: muchos entregan “designer-ready” — pisos y closets son su presupuesto, a menudo $150–$400/pie más. La política de renta por escrito: LOFTY y Domus son flexibles; EDITION es estrictamente residencial. La cláusula de cesión: ¿puede vender su contrato antes del cierre? El estudio de vistas: esa vista a la bahía existe hasta que el lote de enfrente reciba su propia grúa.
Los cinco errores más comunes
1. Comprar el render, no la línea. Su contrato especifica un número de unidad; júzguelo como juzgaría una reventa terminada. 2. Ignorar el costo de mantener: HOA más impuestos más seguro en un condo de $4M son fácilmente $12–18K al mes. 3. Asumir la hipoteca de hoy al cierre: su crédito se cotiza a la entrega, en años; haga la prueba de estrés con tasas mayores. 4. Saltarse la inspección de entrega: camine la unidad con inspector independiente y documente el punch list — vea nuestra guía de inspección. 5. Entrar a la galería sin representación: el equipo del centro de ventas trabaja para el desarrollador. Traer su propio agente no le cuesta nada — el desarrollador paga la comisión del lado comprador al mismo precio — y le consigue a alguien cuyo trabajo es la comparación que no le están mostrando.
Dónde está el pipeline, zona por zona
Brickell: Cipriani (80 pisos, 2027), St. Regis de Robert A.M. Stern, el Waldorf Astoria de 100 pisos — la torre residencial más alta al sur de Manhattan — 1428 Brickell de Antonio Citterio, Baccarat, Mercedes-Benz Places, Dolce & Gabbana, Una, y entrada desde los $550Ks en Smart Brickell II. Contexto: nuestra guía de Brickell.
Edgewater & North Bay Village: EDITION, Villa Miami, The Cōve, LILLI, ELLE, Vida — y cruzando el puente, TULA (54 residencias boutique desde $2.4M, 2027) y Continuum Club & Residences (2029).
Las playas: Rivage Bal Harbour, The Perigon, Shore Club Private Collection, The Delmore, Faena, Aman, Ritz-Carlton; en Sunny Isles, St. Regis y Bentley con su ascensor de autos; y para compradores de islas, Six Fisher Island y Twenty-Nine Indian Creek.
El Grove, Gables y el núcleo creativo: Four Seasons Coconut Grove, OPUS, The Well, VITA; más Cloud One Wynwood, Midtown Park y Miami Tropic. El directorio completo: bensimonluxury.com/preconstruction.
Cómo funciona realmente la asignación
Las mejores líneas nunca llegan al lanzamiento público. Los desarrolladores liberan inventario por tramos — friends & family primero, luego clientes de brokers productores, luego el público — con precios subiendo en cada tramo. El acceso temprano es un negocio de relaciones: los directores de ventas devuelven llamadas a los agentes que cierran. Si un proyecto de esta página le interesa, la conversación no cuesta nada — empiece aquí.