Preconstruction vs Resale Condos in Miami

Buy preconstruction if you want a new building and can tie up a large deposit for two or more years; buy resale if you want to see the actual unit, check the association's real finances and close in weeks. In Miami the price gap between the two is wide right now: units listed in towers that have not delivered yet ask a median of $1,469 per square foot, while resale condos in delivered buildings closed at a median of $609 over the past year.

How a preconstruction purchase works

You sign with the developer before or during construction and pay in stages rather than with one down payment. Miami schedules usually call for deposits totaling 20% to 50% of the price, paid at contract, at groundbreaking and at topping off, with the balance due at closing when the building is finished. Luxury towers sit at the high end of that range. Every developer sets its own schedule, so read it in the contract.

Florida law protects those deposits in two layers under section 718.202:

• The first 10% of the price must go into escrow and stays there until closing, unless you cancel properly (you get it back) or default.
• Anything above 10% goes into a special escrow account and cannot be used before closing, with one exception: if your contract says so in a bold legend on its first page, the developer may use it for actual construction costs once construction has begun. It can never be used for sales commissions, marketing or advertising.

You also have 15 days to cancel after signing and receiving all of the developer's documents, and a new 15 days after any amendment that changes the offering in a way that is materially adverse to you. Resale buyers have a shorter right: unless the contract confirms they received the association's documents more than 7 days before signing, they may cancel within 7 days of receiving them, not counting weekends and legal holidays (section 718.503).

How much each market trades

Recorded deeds show both markets are large. In the 12 months from October 2025 to September 2026, Own.Miami counted 3,389 first sales of new condos in Miami-Dade, at a median deed price of $661,900, against 11,902 resales at a median of $390,000. A year earlier, there were only 1,014 new-construction sales, so a wave of towers has been delivering.

That wave is part of why resale inventory is high. As of October 13, 2026, 11 of the 12 neighborhoods Own.Miami tracks had more than nine months of condo supply, the level we treat as a buyer's market, from 9.6 months in Coconut Grove to 30.1 in Downtown. Key Biscayne, at 6.8, was the exception. That gives resale buyers room to negotiate.

Preconstruction: what you gain and what you risk

You gain the newest design and amenities, new building systems with no deferred maintenance at delivery, payments spread over the construction period, and the chance that values rise before delivery.

You risk buying from renderings, delivery delays, not knowing your mortgage rate until closing, and a resale market at delivery that may be softer than at launch. The asking-price gap above is the clearest example: an assignment or new unit at $1,469 per square foot competes with finished resales at roughly $600.

Resale: what you gain and what you risk

You gain the ability to see the exact unit, view and building operations, to read real financial statements, the structural integrity reserve study and the milestone inspection summary, and to close quickly.

You risk inheriting the building's condition: older systems, underfunded reserves or special assessments. Ask for the structural integrity reserve study, the milestone inspection report and any approved or proposed special assessments, and check the verified public records on each Own.Miami building page.

The bottom line

Preconstruction pays off for buyers who want new product and can wait while a large deposit sits in escrow or funds construction. Resale suits buyers who want certainty about what they are buying, and in today's high-supply market it usually comes with more negotiating power. Either way, read the deposit schedule or the association's financials before the cancellation window closes.

This guide is general education, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm the specifics of any purchase with a Florida real estate attorney and your lender.