FL
Bay Harbor IslandsCity Guide
Two islands of MiMo houses, kosher bakeries, and a drawbridge away from Bal Harbour Shops.
Bay Harbor Islands is two man-made islands in Biscayne Bay, dredged out of mangrove in 1947 by Shepard Broad and connected to the mainland by a single drawbridge. The whole town is 208 acres. You can walk it end to end in twenty minutes, and most residents do — for the school, the bakery, the post office, or the boutiques along Kane Concourse.
It splits cleanly in two. West Island is single-family — low-slung waterfront houses with private docks, many on canals deep enough for forty-foot boats. East Island is the denser half: garden-style MiMo apartment buildings from the 1950s, a new generation of boutique luxury condos breaking ground along East Bay Harbor Drive, and the two-block business spine of Kane Concourse.
A small town stitched into Miami Beach
Geography does most of the work here. Cross the 96th Street causeway east and you're in Bal Harbour with the Chanel store and the ocean; cross south and you're in Surfside; cross west on the Broad Causeway and you're on the mainland in five minutes. The result is a quiet, residential-only feel with the dining and retail of one of the wealthiest stretches of Miami a literal block away. Browse homes for sale in Bay Harbor Islands to see the range — from $600K teardowns on Kane Concourse to $5M+ Signature Collection units delivering in 2026.
Bay Harbor Islands holds the largest intact cluster of Miami Modern architecture in South Florida — work by Charles McKirahan, Henry Hohauser, Igor Polevitzky, Norman Giller, and Morris Lapidus. The town has protected most of it. That's the trade-off you accept when you move here: small scale, mid-century bones, walk-everywhere life — in exchange for accepting that every property sits inside a flood hazard zone and flood insurance is non-negotiable.
Key Details
What makes Bay Harbor Islands special
East Island vs. West Island
West Island is 103 acres of single-family houses, mostly waterfront with private docks. East Island is 105 acres of garden-style MiMo apartments, new boutique condos, and the Kane Concourse business district. Two very different price floors.
Market right now
Median listing price is $1.19M at roughly $750/sq ft. Condo inventory across coastal Miami fell ~13% year over year going into 2026, and new construction here is pricing well above resale — Signature Collection units start at $3M, with $5M+ penthouses.
The school is the anchor
Ruth K. Broad Bay Harbor K-8 Center is the only public school on the islands. It's A-rated, scores 9/10 on GreatSchools, and ranks in the top 20 public K-8s in Florida. Families build their decision to live here around its catchment.
MiMo, preserved
Built on dredged swampland in the late 1940s, the islands gave architects a blank slate and they filled it with small-scale Miami Modern. Most of those buildings still stand and the town has actively resisted teardown culture — though East Island is now in the middle of a luxury rebuild cycle.
Flood risk is the asterisk
The entire town sits in a FEMA flood hazard zone. Storm surge can flood every property. Floodplain ordinances since 1993 and active drainage management help, but flood insurance is mandatory and underwrites the cost of ownership.
Who lives here
A bilingual, family-skewed town of about 5,960. Roughly 44% Hispanic, with significant Brazilian, Israeli, and Argentinian populations — the Hebrew, Portuguese, and Spanish you hear on the sidewalk is part of the neighborhood's identity. Median age is 42.9.
Getting around
There's a free town shuttle, but most residents walk or bike on the islands themselves. The Broad Causeway is the only westbound exit — it's a SunPass toll bridge into North Miami. Eastbound, 96th Street takes you onto Collins and the beach in two minutes.
Bal Harbour is your retail
Day-to-day shopping happens along Kane Concourse — jewelry, modernist furniture, a few markets. For everything else, Bal Harbour Shops is a one-bridge walk: Chanel, Gucci, Neiman Marcus, Saks, plus the chef-driven restaurants that anchor the property.
Notable Addresses
Buildings in Bay Harbor Islands
Recently Listed
For Sale in Bay Harbor Islands
20
19
16
27
19Recently Listed
For Rent in Bay Harbor Islands
25Lifestyle & Highlights
The best of Bay Harbor Islands
Where to eat
The town's eating is a split between Kane Concourse — kosher steakhouses, Japanese, Cuban cafés — and the chef-driven rooms a block east at Bal Harbour Shops.
Makoto
Chef Makoto Okuwa's modern Edomae sushi room inside Bal Harbour Shops; one of the most reservation-driven sushi counters in Miami.
9700 Collins Ave, Bal HarbourCarpaccio
The long-running Italian patio at Bal Harbour Shops; locals come for thin-sliced raw fish and the people-watching across from Saks.
9700 Collins Ave, Bal HarbourMeat Bar
High-end kosher steakhouse on Kane Concourse — full glatt kosher under strict supervision, one of the best in South Florida.
1051 Kane Concourse, Bay Harbor IslandsSlim's
Old-Hollywood steakhouse at Bal Harbour Shops with leather banquettes, prime cuts, and a Wagyu cheesesteak that's become its signature.
9700 Collins Ave, Bal HarbourMorning coffee
Bay Harbor Café
Latin counter for Cuban coffee, empanadas, and arepas — the espumita-topped cortadito is the move before school drop-off.
1100 Kane Concourse, Bay Harbor IslandsCoffee Break Enjoy
The neighborhood's all-day café — pastries, breakfast plates, and an extensive espresso menu in a small storefront on Kane.
1098 Kane Concourse, Bay Harbor IslandsPura Vida
Healthy-leaning café with açaí bowls, smoothies, and sandwiches — a fixture for the morning workout crowd.
9700 Collins Ave, Bal HarbourThe Inn Café at Inn at Bay Harbor
Starbucks-served lobby café in the Indian Creek waterfront hotel; the most reliable place for a working coffee on the islands.
9660 E Bay Harbor Dr, Bay Harbor IslandsOutside and on the water
Officer Scott A. Winters Park
Bayfront green space at the east end of the islands — playground, dog area, and one of the better sunset spots in town.
1175 95th St, Bay Harbor Islands92nd Street Park
The town's tennis hub — public courts plus a tot lot, programming for kids in summer.
1247 92nd St, Bay Harbor IslandsNorth & South Passive Parks
Two narrow waterfront slivers on either end of the West Island — for walking, not playing. Quiet and shaded, popular with morning joggers.
West Island, Bay Harbor IslandsSurfside Beach
Three blocks east across the 96th Street bridge — wide, calm, and notably less crowded than South Beach. The default beach for residents.
9th–96th St, SurfsideShopping nearby
Bal Harbour Shops
Reported as the most productive shopping center per square foot in the world — Chanel, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Neiman Marcus, Saks, all in a tropical open-air garden one bridge east.
9700 Collins Ave, Bal HarbourKane Concourse boutiques
The town's own two-block retail spine — modernist furniture, designer rugs, jewelry, and small specialty shops, plus the Romero Britto Heart and Robert Indiana LOVE sculptures at the median.
Kane Concourse, Bay Harbor IslandsSurfside Town Center
Everyday shopping — pharmacy, bakeries, kosher market, and Publix — at 95th and Harding, a short walk south of the islands.
95th St & Harding Ave, SurfsideFrequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Bay Harbor Islands
Talk to a Bay Harbor Islands specialist
Inventory turns over quickly across the two islands, and new construction along East Bay Harbor Drive is sold mostly off-market. A local agent can walk you through what's actually available before it lists.
Keep Exploring
More Guides
Boca Raton
Mediterranean Revival rooftops, Atlantic beaches, and a Brightline stop at the front door.
Coral Gables
Mediterranean Revival blocks, Biltmore towers, banyan tunnels.
Aventura
Tower living between Aventura Mall and the marinas of the Intracoastal.
Miami Beach
A 7-mile barrier-island city of Art Deco, ocean, and three very different beaches