Building facts
- Address
- 520 & 540 West Avenue
- Neighborhood
- South Beach
- Year built
- 2004
- Floors
- 24
- Residences
- 168
- Status
- Completed
- Developer
- Ricardo Olivieri
- Architect
- Arquitectonica
- Pricing
- Starting at $1.65 Million
Key Takeaways
- This is one condominium across two addresses, and the two towers are barely the same product — 520 and 540 West Avenue, filed by the county as one condominium. The north tower holds 87 homes, every one of them between 772 and 1,252 sq ft. The south tower holds 80, running to 4,711 sq ft and containing every three- and four-bedroom in the building.
- The county assesses the south tower 85% higher — a median $1,118,347 against $604,717 — and over four years it cleared $1,147 per square foot against $1,015. A comparable from the wrong tower is not a comparable.
- Eleven of the twelve sales in 2026 closed inside eight weeks — between 5 January and 27 February. That is the heaviest run this building has had since its 2005 sell-out, and 2026 is already the busiest year since 2022.
- The four-year change is publishable and it is a small rise — $1,141 per square foot in 2023 against $1,173 in 2026, up 2.8%, on seven sales and twelve. The dip to $970 in 2024 is a mix effect — the median home sold that year was 779 sq ft.
- Just over a third of the original buyers who resold lost money — 59 of 164 — 36.0% — though the median outcome was still a 15.6% gain. Across all 311 resales, 88 lost money, or 28.3%, at a median gain of 20.8% over a 5.2-year hold.
- The record is $7,000,000 — paid on 13 May 2021 for a 4,421 sq ft home in the south tower. The same home sold for $3,000,000 in March 2006 — a gain of 133.3%.
520 & 540 West Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida 33139 | Neighborhood: South Beach
What is actually in the building
Bentley Bay is one condominium at two street addresses — 520 and 540 West Avenue — and the county files every unit with a BLDG N or BLDG S designation. Pull one address alone and you describe half of it. Across both, the county returns 169 folios, of which 167 are homes; the remainder is a reference folio and one commercial tract that belongs to a different parcel series entirely.
Taken as a whole the building runs from 772 sq ft to 4,711 sq ft, median 1,059, with 73 one-bedrooms, 75 two-bedrooms, 18 three-bedrooms and one four-bedroom. For 2026 the county assesses the homes between $278,610 and $5,275,019, median $859,699.
But that median is close to meaningless, because the building is really two quite different collections of homes, and the next section is the most useful thing on this page.
Are the two towers really the same building?
Legally, yes. In every practical sense a buyer cares about, no.
| North tower | South tower | |
|---|---|---|
| Homes | 87 | 80 |
| Size range | 772–1,252 sq ft | 776–4,711 sq ft |
| Median size | 779 sq ft | 1,210 sq ft |
| Bedrooms | 45 one-bed, 42 two-bed | 28 one-bed, 33 two-bed, 18 three-bed, 1 four-bed |
| Median 2026 assessment | $604,717 | $1,118,347 |
| Median $/sq ft, 2023–2026 | $1,015 | $1,147 |
| Turnover | one home in 19 | one home in 14 |
Every three-bedroom and the single four-bedroom in this condominium is in the south tower. The north tower has no home larger than 1,252 sq ft — its median is 779 sq ft, and 63 of the building’s homes sit at or under 800. The county assesses the south tower’s median home 85% higher, and over the last four years it has cleared 13.0% more per square foot and traded a third more often.
So the practical rule at this address is simple: ask which tower before you use any number. A per-foot figure quoted for “Bentley Bay” is an average of two populations that barely overlap, and it will misprice a home in either direction.
The price record
| Year | Qualified sales | Median price | Median $/sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 7 | $1,630,000 | $1,141 |
| 2024 | 14 | $841,500 | $970 |
| 2025 | 8 | $1,200,000 | $1,028 |
| 2026 to date | 12 | $1,322,350 | $1,173 |
Forty-one qualified sales across four years, with seven in 2023 and twelve in 2026 — both comfortably clear the five-sale threshold, so the four-year change is published: up 2.8%, from $1,141 to $1,173 per square foot. That figure goes into my Miami Condo Index as a real number.
Ignore the middle of that table, or rather understand it. The median home sold in 2024 measured 779 sq ft — the north tower’s standard plan — against 1,223 sq ft in 2023 and 1,175 in 2026. The apparent 15% collapse in 2024 and the 21% recovery since are the mix moving between towers, not the market moving. The 2023 and 2026 endpoints happen to be closely matched on size, which is why I am willing to publish the change between them.
Across the four years the building cleared a median $1,085 per square foot, in a band from $829 to $2,108, at a median price of $1,175,000. The highest price ever paid is $7,000,000, on 13 May 2021, for a 4,421 sq ft home in the south tower — a home that had sold for $3,000,000 in March 2006, so its owner realised 133.3% across fifteen years. The highest price per square foot is $2,108, paid on 16 April 2024 for a 1,613 sq ft south-tower home.
Something unusual happened at the start of this year. Of the twelve qualified sales recorded in 2026, eleven closed between 5 January and 27 February — eight weeks. I am not going to tell you why; the county records transactions, not reasons. What I will say is that a building averaging around ten sales a year did a year’s worth of business in two months, and that anyone valuing a home here has an unusually fresh and unusually dense set of comparables to work from. That is worth more than it sounds.
The long record: the building sold through in 2005, when 179 homes changed hands at a median $595,000, or $591 per square foot. Of those original buyers, 164 have since resold and 59 lost money — 36.0% — though the median outcome was still a gain of 15.6%. Across all 311 resales the county records, 88 lost money, or 28.3%, at a median gain of 20.8% over a 5.2-year hold.
Liquidity is a strength: 41 sales against 167 homes is about one home in 16 a year, well ahead of the median of one in 24 across the buildings in my Miami Condo Index.
Who this building suits, and who it does not
It suits a buyer who wants a small, well-located home on West Avenue and cares about being able to sell it again. The north tower’s 772–780 sq ft plans account for 63 homes, they trade constantly, and at a four-year median around $1,015 per square foot they are among the more liquid entry points I measure on the beach.
It suits, for entirely different reasons, a buyer wanting a large home with water frontage — but that buyer is shopping in the south tower only, where the three-bedrooms run to about 1,994 sq ft and the single largest home is 4,711.
It suits badly a buyer who wants the two towers to be interchangeable. They are not, and the gap is 85% on the county’s own assessments.
It suits badly a short-term holder who bought at a peak: 36.0% of the 2005 cohort who sold did so at a loss, and the median hold across all resales is 5.2 years.
If you are selling here, the single most valuable thing you can do is insist on tower-matched and size-matched comparables. If you are in the south tower and a buyer quotes the building’s 2024 median of $970 per square foot, that number was set by 779 sq ft north-tower homes and it is not evidence about yours. And you are in luck on timing: with eleven sales closed in the first eight weeks of 2026, at $1,004 to $1,392 per square foot, the recent record here is thicker and fresher than in almost any building on this stretch. Use it.
Verified 18 August 2026 against the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser record for 520 and 540 West Ave — all 169 folios across BOTH addresses retrieved individually, grouped by subdivision and filtered to residential homes, excluding one reference folio, one commercial tract recorded under a separate parcel series, and any parking, cabana and storage. Bentley Bay is one condominium spanning two street addresses; a figure drawn from either alone describes about half the building. Tower assignment is the county’s own BLDG N and BLDG S designation. Sale figures are qualified, arm’s-length transactions only, with bulk/portfolio transfers collapsed to a single transaction. 2026 is an incomplete year. Assessed values are the county’s, not market valuations. Building age, storey count, architect and amenity detail are omitted: no primary source has been confirmed for them. Re-check when the next tax roll publishes.
Bentley Bay — Frequently Asked Questions
How many homes are there at Bentley Bay?
167. The condominium spans two towers at two street addresses, 520 and 540 West Avenue, and the county returns 169 folios across them. The north tower holds 87 homes and the south tower 80.
Are the north and south towers at Bentley Bay the same?
Not in any way that matters to a buyer. The north tower runs 772 to 1,252 sq ft with a median of 779 and contains only one- and two-bedrooms. The south tower runs 776 to 4,711 sq ft with a median of 1,210 and holds every three-bedroom and the single four-bedroom in the condominium. The county assesses the south tower’s median home 85% higher, and it clears 13.0% more per square foot.
How much does a home at Bentley Bay sell for?
Across the 41 qualified sales in the four years to August 2026 the building cleared a median $1,085 per square foot in a band from $829 to $2,108, at a median price of $1,175,000. By tower, the four-year medians are $1,015 per square foot in the north and $1,147 in the south.
Have prices at Bentley Bay gone up?
Slightly. The median was $1,141 per square foot in 2023 and $1,173 in 2026, a rise of 2.8%, published in my Miami Condo Index because both years clear my five-sale threshold. The dip to $970 in 2024 was a mix effect: the median home sold that year was 779 sq ft, against 1,223 in 2023.
What is the highest price ever paid at Bentley Bay?
$7,000,000, on 13 May 2021, for a 4,421 sq ft south-tower home. The same home had sold for $3,000,000 in March 2006, a gain of 133.3%. The highest price per square foot is $2,108, paid on 16 April 2024 for a 1,613 sq ft south-tower home.
How often do homes at Bentley Bay change hands?
Often. The county records 41 qualified sales in the four years to August 2026 against 167 homes — about one home in 16 a year, well ahead of the median of one in 24 across the buildings in my Miami Condo Index. The south tower turns over faster than the north, one in 14 against one in 19.
Why were there so many sales in early 2026?
I cannot tell you why — the county records transactions, not reasons. What the record shows is that eleven of the twelve qualified sales in 2026 closed between 5 January and 27 February, at $1,004 to $1,392 per square foot. For a building that averages around ten sales a year, that is a year’s business in eight weeks, and it leaves an unusually fresh set of comparables.
Have owners at Bentley Bay made money?
Most have, but not all. The building sold through in 2005 at a median $595,000. Of those original buyers, 164 have since resold and 59 lost money — 36.0% — with a median gain of 15.6%. Across all 311 resales the county records, 88 lost money, or 28.3%, at a median gain of 20.8% over a 5.2-year hold.
Sources and further reading
Interested in selling at Bentley Bay?
Learn more about selling your condo at Bentley Bay with Josh Stein.
Related coverage
Part of Miami Luxury Condos.