Miami Beach, FL
Star IslandNeighbourhood Guide
A gated, man-made island of about thirty waterfront estates.
Star Island is a 0.134-square-mile man-made island in Biscayne Bay, sitting south of the Venetian Islands and just east of Palm and Hibiscus Islands. There is one way on and one way off: a single gated entrance with a staffed guardhouse, reached from the MacArthur Causeway about five minutes from South Beach and seven from Downtown Miami.
Carl Fisher's dredged trophy
The island was completed in 1922 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, dredged from the bay as part of Carl Fisher's reinvention of Miami Beach. Fisher opened the Miami Yacht Club on it in 1924, then carved the land into about thirty oversized waterfront lots. The name traces to the run of celebrity owners that followed, and the platting still defines the island today — roughly 100 residents at the 2010 census across those same thirty households.
Bloomberg has called Star Island the most expensive neighborhood in the United States, and the trade flow makes the case: in the year ending February 2026, only one Star Island home changed hands — listed at $48M, sold for $36M, 222 days on market.
Key Details
What makes Star Island special
Market
The combined Star, Palm and Hibiscus Islands median was $24M in February 2026, with active listings spanning $5.7M to $99M. Star Island specifically trades only a handful of homes a year. In March 2025, 26 Star Island Drive sold for $120M, resetting the Miami-Dade record (prior record: Ken Griffin's $106.9M Coconut Grove buy in 2022).
Who lives here
About 100 residents across roughly 30 households. The current roster mixes music (Sean Combs, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Rick Ross), corporate founders (Stuart Miller of Lennar, Philip Frost), and reality-TV / medical (Lisa and Leonard Hochstein). Turnover is slow, and most owners hold for the long haul.
Privacy & security
A single staffed guardhouse controls the only road on or off. Non-residents need pre-approval to enter by car; the public alternative is a Biscayne Bay boat tour. Most estates layer in private patrols, walled perimeters, and waterside camera coverage.
Getting around
Practically a zero-Walk-Score address — there are no shops, restaurants, or transit stops on the island. The MacArthur Causeway puts South Beach about five minutes away, Downtown Miami and Brickell about seven, and Miami International Airport roughly fifteen. Most households keep a car per adult and a boat at the dock.
Architecture
Lots run from about 30,000 square feet up to 2.5 acres, almost all with their own dock, pool, and tennis court. The stock leans Mediterranean Revival from the 1920s–1990s era, increasingly cleared for contemporary teardown-and-rebuilds with elevated ground floors and tropical-modernist lines.
History
Dredged 1922 by the Army Corps for Carl Fisher; Miami Yacht Club opened on the island in 1924. The early celebrity concentration gave the island its name and set the trophy-residence pattern that still shapes the market a century later.
Climate & flood
Star Island sits on Miami Beach's barrier-island geology, where "sunny-day" tidal flooding and king-tide events are part of the calendar. Newer rebuilds raise ground floors well above grade and reinforce sea walls; older estates rely on landscaping and pumps.
Market Intelligence
Real estate trends in Star Island
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Star Island
Talk to a Star Island specialist
Inventory on Star Island moves fewer than five times a year. A specialist broker can surface off-market opportunities and walk you through what each estate actually trades for.