Key Takeaways
- The county record here runs back to 1974 and holds 1,066 qualified sales — including 803 resales — one of the deepest ownership records I have. Only 16.3% of those resales lost money, at a median gain of 47.2%.
- At $360 per square foot this is the cheapest building in my Miami Condo Index — on 62 qualified sales over four years, in a band from $235 to $752, at a median price of $395,000.
- Prices are down 12.9% over four years — from $348 per square foot in 2023 to $303 in 2026. On 62 sales the direction is real; the 2026 figure rests on six sales and should not be read as a settled level.
- One home bought in 1978 for $23,000 sold in 2025 for $279,000 — 371 sq ft, held forty-seven years, up 1,113.0%. It is the largest gain on my entire county record.
- It is a liquid building — turnover runs at one home in 17 per year against a median of one in 24 across the buildings in my Miami Condo Index.
- Thirty of its 297 folios are deeded storage, not homes — the county labels them DS-1 upward at 247 sq ft each, separately owned and separately assessed. They are excluded from every figure here.
900 Bay Drive, Miami, Florida | Neighborhood: Miami Beach
What is actually in the building
The county returns 297 folios at 900 Bay Drive. 266 are homes. Thirty are deeded storage units of 247 sq ft each, individually owned and individually assessed, and one is a reference folio carrying no dwelling. All 31 are excluded from every figure below — and the storage matters here in practice, because as I note later the building’s highest recorded sale conveyed a storage folio along with the home.
The homes run from 371 sq ft to 3,919 sq ft, median 1,133 — a spread of more than ten to one, which is among the widest I measure. The mix is 42 studios, 134 one-bedrooms, 82 two-bedrooms, five three-bedrooms and three four-bedrooms. Six floorplates carry more than half the building: 40 homes at 920 sq ft, 33 at 1,540, 26 at 1,520, 19 at 1,147 and 18 each at 678 and 1,003.
The assessments are the second lowest I have recorded in this series, behind Opera Tower. For 2026 the county assesses these homes from $46,116 to $842,140, median $276,206. A spread of 18.3 times invites the obvious question — whether it is really a Save Our Homes artefact, with long-held homesteads assessed far below recent purchases rather than genuinely cheaper homes. I tested it and the answer is mostly no. Ranked by assessment per square foot, owners who have held since before 2005 sit at a median of $235 and those who bought in 2021 or later at $267; the correlation between holding period and assessment is +0.26, below the level at which I would call it the driving factor. The spread here is mostly real variation in size and condition, not a tax-cap illusion.
The price record
| Year | Qualified sales | Median price | Median $/sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 17 | $374,000 | $348 |
| 2024 | 21 | $510,000 | $399 |
| 2025 | 18 | $362,500 | $343 |
| 2026 to date | 6 | $335,000 | $303 |
Across four years that is 62 qualified sales, a median of $360 per square foot in a band from $235 to $752, and a median price of $395,000. The four-year change is −12.9%.
On 62 sales I am satisfied the direction is real: three of the four years sit below the 2024 high and the last two have fallen in succession. The magnitude is less certain than the direction. 2024 looks like the anomaly rather than 2026 — $399 per square foot against $348 the year before it and $343 the year after — and if you measure from 2023 to 2025 instead you get −1.4%, essentially flat. The honest summary is that this building has traded in a $340–$400 range for most of four years and has started 2026 below it, on six sales. Six sales is not a level, and I would want to see the year finish before treating $303 as the number.
Turnover runs at one home in 17 per year, notably faster than the median of one in 24 across the buildings in my Miami Condo Index. Roughly fifteen of these 266 homes trade annually. At this price point that liquidity is worth real money to a seller.
Fifty years of ownership, and what they are worth
The county holds 1,066 qualified sales for this building, the earliest dated 1974. The bulk of the original sell-out ran through the second half of that decade: 62 sales in 1975, 49 in 1976, 73 in 1977 and 47 in 1978. Within the full record are 803 resales, which makes this one of the two or three deepest ownership records I hold.
| Resales | Sold at a loss | Median outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All resales, 1974–2026 | 803 | 16.3% | +47.2% |
| Bought in the 1975–78 sell-out | 220 | 14.5% | +42.9% |
| Bought after 1978 | 582 | 17.0% | +48.9% |
| Sold 2021 or later | 97 | 7.2% | +61.2% |
A 16.3% loss rate across 803 transactions and half a century is a genuinely strong record, and unlike most figures I publish it is not vulnerable to a handful of deals going the other way. Note also what is not here: unlike almost every building I measure, the entry year barely matters. Original 1970s buyers and everyone after them land within three points of each other. A fifty-year record is long enough that the cycle an owner bought in gets averaged away — which is itself the finding.
The single best outcome on my entire county record belongs to this building: a 371 sq ft home bought for $23,000 on 1 July 1978 and sold for $279,000 on 27 May 2025 — up 1,113.0% over forty-seven years. I include it because it is real, not because it is a guide; annualised, it is a good but unremarkable return, and it required holding a studio for nearly five decades.
The worst is more useful as a warning: a 920 sq ft home bought for $275,000 on 1 June 2006 and sold for $77,900 on 16 August 2011 — down 71.7%. That is the steepest single loss I have recorded in any building, and it is the 2006 entry price doing the damage, exactly as it does everywhere else I look. The long record here softens the peak-vintage effect at the building level; it did nothing at all for that particular owner.
One disclosure on the top of the range. The highest price the county records here is $1,137,000 on 1 September 2005, for a 3,915 sq ft penthouse — and that transaction conveyed a 247 sq ft deeded storage folio, DS-6, along with the home. The price therefore covers two folios and the $290 per square foot it implies is slightly overstated for the residence alone.
Who this building suits, and who it does not
It suits a buyer who wants the cheapest genuine entry into Miami Beach that I can document, with an unusually well-evidenced history behind it. A four-year median of $395,000 and $360 per square foot is the lowest level in my Miami Condo Index; the building trades quickly at one home in 17; and 803 resales over fifty years say that owners here have generally done well. Few buildings at any price can show that much record.
It suits badly a buyer who expects the recent direction to reverse quickly. Prices per foot are down 12.9% over four years and have fallen in each of the last two. Nothing in the record says that continues, but nothing says it stops either, and 2026 has opened below the four-year range.
It also suits badly anyone shopping on assessed value alone. An assessment range from $46,116 to $842,140 in one building means the number attached to any individual home tells you very little about the one next door, and I would not use it as a pricing shortcut here.
If you are selling here, liquidity is your advantage and mix is your trap. Fifteen homes trade in an average year, so a correctly priced home should not sit — but the building runs from 371 sq ft studios to 3,919 sq ft penthouses, and the building-wide median of $360 per square foot describes almost nobody. Price against your own floorplate, of which there are likely 17 to 39 others, and if your home includes a deeded storage unit, say so and price it separately: the county treats it as a distinct folio and so should your listing.
Verified 19 August 2026 against the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser record for 900 Bay Drive — all 297 folios retrieved individually, grouped by subdivision and filtered to residential homes, excluding thirty deeded storage folios and one reference folio, along with parking and cabana. Sale figures are qualified, arm’s-length transactions only, with bulk/portfolio transfers collapsed to a single transaction; the building’s highest recorded sale conveyed a storage folio alongside the home and is disclosed on the page. 2026 is an incomplete year. Building age, storey count and amenity detail are omitted: no primary source has been confirmed for them. Re-check when the next tax roll publishes.
King Cole — Frequently Asked Questions
How many homes are in King Cole?
The county records 297 folios at 900 Bay Drive, of which 266 are homes, thirty are deeded storage units and one is a reference folio. The homes are 42 studios, 134 one-bedrooms, 82 two-bedrooms, five three-bedrooms and three four-bedrooms.
What do homes in King Cole sell for?
Over the four years to August 2026 the county records 62 qualified sales at a median of $395,000, or $360 per square foot, in a band from $235 to $752 per foot. That is the lowest level in my Miami Condo Index.
Are prices in King Cole going up or down?
Down 12.9% over four years, from $348 per square foot in 2023 to $303 in 2026. The direction is well supported on 62 sales; the magnitude is less certain, because 2024 was an unusually strong year at $399 and the 2026 figure rests on six sales.
Have owners in King Cole made money?
Yes, on a long record. Across 803 resales going back to 1974, 16.3% sold at a loss and the median owner was up 47.2%. Owners selling since 2021 show a 7.2% loss rate and a median gain of 61.2%.
How quickly do homes in King Cole sell?
Quickly for this market: turnover runs at about one home in 17 per year, roughly fifteen of the 266 homes, against a median of one in 24 across the buildings in my Miami Condo Index.
Why are the assessments so low?
Because the homes genuinely are inexpensive, not because of a tax cap. The 2026 assessments run from $46,116 to $842,140, median $276,206. I tested whether long-held homesteads explain the spread and the correlation between holding period and assessment per square foot is only +0.26 — below the level at which I would call it the driving factor.
What is the largest gain on record here?
A 371 sq ft home bought for $23,000 on 1 July 1978 and sold for $279,000 on 27 May 2025 — up 1,113.0% over forty-seven years. It is the largest percentage gain anywhere on my county record.
Sources and further reading
Interested in selling at King Cole Miami Beach?
Learn more about selling your condo at King Cole Miami Beach with Josh Stein.
Related coverage
Part of Miami Luxury Condos.