Steve McAleer - Realtor

Steve McAleer - Realtor Steve is a full-time licensed Realtor serving the Southeast Florida market with The Agency RE

Southeast Florida Realtor specializing in Residential Real Estate including Waterfront Estates and Luxury Property Sales.

09/09/2026

Flood zone designations in Fort Lauderdale do not follow neighborhood lines. They vary block by block and parcel by parcel, and they determine whether flood insurance is required, what it costs, and what your lender requires.

Zone X carries the lowest risk — outside the 500-year flood plain. Coverage is not federally required, and voluntary policies often run $500 to $1,500 a year. Zone AE covers most of the city's waterfront and low-lying areas, sits inside the 100-year flood plain, and carries a mandatory insurance requirement with a federally backed mortgage. Zone VE applies to coastal areas exposed to wave action on top of flooding — the highest-risk designation, with the most demanding construction standards. Direct oceanfront and some Intracoastal frontage falls here.

FEMA's Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov gives the current effective map for any address. Pull it before you make an offer, not after you are committed. The map is static, though, and may not reflect recent drainage work, updated topography, or the structure's actual elevation. Ask too whether a Letter of Map Amendment exists — a LOMA can remove a Zone AE property from the mandatory requirement.

The elevation certificate turns a zone into a premium. Prepared by a licensed surveyor, it documents the lowest occupied floor relative to FEMA's Base Flood Elevation. A waterfront home three feet above BFE might carry $3,000 to $5,000 per year. The same home two feet below BFE might carry $15,000 to $25,000 or more. If none exists, one runs roughly $300 to $600 during the inspection period.

On the homeowner's side, carrier exits and tighter underwriting have made cost and availability vary far more property to property than buyers expect. Roof age is the biggest variable after flood zone. Around 15 years, most carriers begin restricting coverage or requiring replacement; at 20 years, options narrow to surplus lines or Citizens. Impact windows and doors, hurricane straps, and hip roof geometry cut wind premium; full impact glass often saves $2,000 to $6,000 a year, documented in a wind mitigation report.

09/05/2026

Owning a luxury home in South Florida means living in paradise — but hurricane season means protecting it. Here's how to prep like a pro.

Test hurricane shutters or impact windows now. Old accordion shutters need a check, and ocean-facing glass is worth upgrading for insurance discounts.

Install a whole-home generator (gas or propane) so AC, security, and appliances stay on through outages. Service it yearly and keep fuel on hand.

Review homeowners, flood, and windstorm coverage. Confirm it reflects your home's value, know your deductible, and keep a photo/video inventory for faster claims.

Trim trees, secure furniture, and protect outdoor kitchens or cabanas. If you travel, line up a trusted local contact to secure your home fast.

Stock water, flashlights, batteries, and backup chargers, and consider smart monitoring to check your property remotely.

Strong shutters, backup power, the right insurance, and maintenance separate a prepared homeowner from one caught off guard.

09/02/2026

Comment "GUIDE" to grab my free Fort Lauderdale Home Buyer Guide. If you're considering neighborhoods like Coral Ridge, Las Olas Isles, Harbor Beach, or Rio Vista, it'll help you compare the areas, understand waterfront considerations, insurance, flood zones & more before you make your move.

Coral Ridge sits in northeastern Fort Lauderdale between Federal Highway and the Intracoastal, with canal-front and Middle River properties adding additional waterfront options.

Compared with the Las Olas corridor, Coral Ridge is quieter and less walkable, with wider lots, mature landscaping, and a more residential feel. Many addresses fall within the Bayview Elementary zone, though school assignments should always be verified by property.

The private Coral Ridge Country Club anchors much of the area's social scene with golf, racquet sports, aquatics, and dining. Membership is separate from purchasing a home.

For boaters, Coral Ridge's canals connect to the Intracoastal and provide ocean access, but dock size and vessel capability vary by property. Direct Intracoastal frontage is among the neighborhood's most premium real estate, while interior canal positions generally become more desirable closer to the Intracoastal.

Architecturally, you'll find everything from 1950s–1980s mid-century and ranch-style homes to major renovations and new construction. Because renovation quality varies, buyers should look beyond finishes and evaluate the underlying mechanical and structural work.

Waterfront homes can begin around $1.2M–$1.5M, while $1.5M–$2.5M opens up renovated canal-front and newer non-waterfront options. Above $3M, you'll find substantial renovations, new construction, and direct Intracoastal estates.

Coral Ridge makes the most sense for buyers prioritizing larger lots, an established residential setting, boating access, and proximity to the Intracoastal.

If walkability to Las Olas Boulevard or the prestige of a specific address matters more, another neighborhood may be a better fit.

At higher price points, the decision becomes less about the neighborhood's average price and more about comparing each individual property on its own merits.

08/26/2026

The Fort Lauderdale luxury market in 2026 is increasingly segmented.

Well-priced, well-presented waterfront homes in neighborhoods like Las Olas Isles, Harbor Beach, Rio Vista, and Coral Ridge continue to attract serious buyers — just not at the pace of 2021–2022.

Meanwhile, overpriced listings, non-waterfront homes without a clear differentiator, and condos with unresolved inspection or reserve issues are taking longer to sell and seeing more price reductions.

The market is rewarding precise pricing — not aspirational pricing.

Accurate pricing comes down to three things:

1. Recent closed sales
Closed prices matter more than asking prices. Pricing at the top of the comparable range just to create negotiating room can discourage buyers before they ever schedule a showing.

2. Current competition
Your home isn't only competing against what recently sold. It's competing against every property a buyer can choose today in the same price range.

3. Features buyers will actually pay for
In Fort Lauderdale, features that reduce uncertainty and future expenses — wider canals, newer seawalls, newer roofs, and impact protection — can support value more defensibly than cosmetic upgrades alone.

Presentation matters too. Professional photography should be the baseline, while video and 3D tours can help out-of-area buyers build their shortlist. Staging, landscaping, dock cleanup, and addressing deferred maintenance all shape a buyer's perception before they make an offer.

Timing depends heavily on the segment. Well-positioned waterfront homes priced to current comps remain attractive, while non-waterfront luxury properties in crowded price ranges require more careful positioning. For condos, the building's financial health and documentation can matter just as much as the unit itself.

And don't overlook who lists the property.

Your listing agent directly affects pricing, positioning, marketing reach, negotiation, and ultimately how smoothly you get from listing to closing.

08/22/2026

Comment "GUIDE" to grab my free Fort Lauderdale Home Buyer Guide. It covers everything you need to know BEFORE you make your move — including top neighborhoods, insurance, flood zones & more.

Building a competitive offer in Fort Lauderdale's luxury market starts with understanding the seller's position before writing a single term.

Start with days on market. A listing sitting 60+ days with a price reduction has already shown flexibility. A fresh listing still reflects seller confidence. The reason for selling — estate sale, seller already committed to another home, or a builder moving a spec home — can also reveal what matters most to them.

Then, price accordingly.

Come in at or near asking when the property is correctly priced, newly listed, or has competing interest. In waterfront neighborhoods like Las Olas Isles, Harbor Beach, and Rio Vista, aggressive low offers on well-priced homes can quickly lose credibility.

Consider coming in below asking when a home has sat 30+ days or the comps don't support the price. In the non-waterfront luxury segment above $1.5M, offers 5–8% below asking are currently being accepted.

Going over asking generally makes sense only in genuine multiple-offer situations.

Your terms matter too. A shorter inspection period can signal seriousness. A fully underwritten pre-approval can shorten the financing contingency and help compete with cash. At the $1.5M–$3M level, an appraisal gap guarantee can also strengthen an offer.

Sellers aren't only looking at price. Proof of funds, strong pre-approval, a larger earnest money deposit, matching their preferred closing timeline, and keeping the offer clean can all increase certainty.

Finally, know your walk-away number BEFORE submitting. Most luxury transactions involve negotiation, and competitive pressure can make it easy to agree to terms you'll regret later.

The strongest offer isn't always the highest — it's the one that best combines price, terms, timing, and certainty.

08/20/2026

Moving to Fort Lauderdale? Grab my free Fort Lauderdale Home Buyer Guide. It has everything you need to know before you make your move. Comment GUIDE & I will shoot it over to you.

The South Florida luxury real estate market continued to outperform the national housing market through the first half of 2026, with sales of homes priced at $1 million and above climbing nearly 22% year-to-date across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

In Broward County, home to Fort Lauderdale's waterfront luxury market, total home sales rose over 21% year-over-year in June, while active inventory fell nearly 20%. Single-family homes in neighborhoods like Las Olas Isles, Harbor Beach, Rio Vista, and Coral Ridge remain in seller-favorable territory, while the condo market, with over 10 months of supply, continues to offer buyers more negotiating leverage.

Miami-Dade posted its strongest June in three years, and Palm Beach County led all three counties in luxury growth, with $1 million-plus sales up 57% year-over-year.

Out-of-state buyers, led by New York, New Jersey, California, Illinois, and Massachusetts, made up 10% of reported domestic buyers in the first half of 2026, purchasing at significantly higher price points than Florida residents.

Mortgage rates remain elevated near 6.55% in mid-July, but cash continues to drive luxury activity, representing over a third of Broward's June closings.

Florida's insurance market is also showing signs of stabilization, with new insurers entering the state and Citizens policyholders across South Florida seeing average rate decreases at renewal.

This report breaks down what held up, what changed faster than expected, and what the data suggests for South Florida real estate through the rest of 2026 and into 2027, for buyers, sellers, and anyone considering relocating to Fort Lauderdale or South Florida.

08/12/2026

Comment GUIDE & I will send you my free Fort Lauderdale Home Buyer Guide - it has everything you need to know BEOFRE you move to the area

Just north of Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea give waterfront buyers two genuinely different options — and neither one is simply a "cheaper Fort Lauderdale."

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is a small, walkable beach town with a real shore-diving culture and direct ocean access. Its geographic footprint can't expand, which creates a scarcity premium on canal-front single-family homes — true waterfront houses with dockage generally start well above $2 million. Buyers with smaller budgets typically find better value in the town's waterfront condos and attached residences.

Pompano Beach tells a different story. Its eastern waterfront neighborhoods offer deepwater, ocean-access dockage — including proximity to Hillsboro Inlet — often 20 to 35 percent below comparable access in Fort Lauderdale's Las Olas Isles or Coral Ridge. The city's ongoing redevelopment around the Pompano Beach Amphitheater, the fishing pier, and Atlantic Boulevard has meaningfully changed the market over the past five years.

08/08/2026

Buying in Fort Lauderdale is not the same process as buying in your home state. Buyers who assume it is lose deals.

Here's the process, fast.

Get pre-approved for your jumbo loan before you tour, not after you find something. Jumbo underwriting is stricter, and it takes two to four weeks. In competitive pockets like Las Olas Isles or Harbor Beach, showing up without that letter can cost you the property.

Florida uses an AS-IS contract. That doesn't mean skip the inspection — it means your leverage after inspection is price or exit, not repair demands. Earnest money here typically runs 10% of price, fully refundable during your inspection period, at risk after it ends.

For any waterfront property: a general inspection isn't enough. You need a seawall inspection — replacement runs $25,000 to $60,000-plus — a four-point inspection for insurance, a wind mitigation report, and flood zone verification. Two houses on the same street can have completely different numbers on all four.

Closing can happen remotely. Most out-of-state buyers never come back to town between their inspection trip and moving day.

I put together a free guide that walks through every neighborhood, price point, and cost consideration in this market. Comment "GUIDE" & I will shoot it over to you.

08/05/2026

Here is what out of state buyers need to know about the Fort Lauderdale condo market in 2026!

Comment "GUIDE" if you want a free resource on everything you need to know BEFORE making the move to Fort Lauderdale. It is called the Fort Lauderdale Home Buyer Guide!

07/29/2026

Comment "GUIDE" if you want a free resource that covers everything you need to know BEFORE moving to Fort Lauderdale. It is called the Fort Lauderdale Home Buyer Guide.

Two houses. Same street in Fort Lauderdale. Same price, same size, same neighborhood.

One costs $8,000 a year to insure. The other costs $28,000.

The difference? Flood zone and elevation certificate.

Here's what most buyers don't know: flood zones don't follow neighborhood lines. They change block by block, even house by house. Zone X is low risk, cheap insurance. Zone AE means mandatory flood coverage, and the premium depends entirely on your elevation certificate — how high your lowest floor sits above base flood elevation. One foot below versus three feet above can mean a $15,000 swing.

Then there's the roof. In Florida, a roof over 15 years old can get you dropped by most carriers, pushed into Citizens or the surplus market at a much higher rate.

So before you fall in love with a property here: pull the flood map, ask for the elevation certificate, and get a roof age. Do it before you offer, not during your inspection period. That $300 elevation certificate can save you tens of thousands a year.

Address

901 E Las Olas Boulevard, Suite 204
Fort Lauderdale, FL
33301

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