Bal Harbour vs. Surfside Condos: Two Neighbouring Towns, Two Different Condo Stocks

Bal Harbour has fewer but much larger condominiums than Surfside: 16 holding 3,050 units against Surfside's 21 holding 1,929, on Florida's state register. Here is how the two towns' buildings, ages and walkability compare, and what to check in either.

By Nick McCandlessPublished November 11, 20265 min readEditorial policy

Bal Harbour and Surfside sit side by side on Collins Avenue, but their condo stock differs. Florida's state register lists 16 condominiums of 20 or more units in Bal Harbour, holding 3,050 units, and 21 in Surfside, holding 1,929. Bal Harbour's are about twice as large on average; Surfside's are smaller and more numerous.

Every count below comes from the Florida DBPR condominium register as published on our pages, /condo-associations/in/bal-harbour and /condo-associations/in/surfside, read on November 11, 2026 (register checked September 27, 2026), and from our own building profiles. Miami Condo HQ has no live listing feed for Miami, so this comparison quotes no prices, inventory or sales.

Two municipalities on one strip of Collins Avenue

Bal Harbour Village and the Town of Surfside are separate municipalities, each with its own government, building department and code enforcement. Surfside lies to the south, Bal Harbour directly north of it. For a condo buyer, that means permits, inspection records and local rules come from different offices depending on which side of the line a building sits.

The register assigns each condominium to a city from the address DBPR has on file, and that is not always where the parcel sits. Two of Surfside's 21 entries, Ambassador Place at 10001 West Bay Harbor Drive and Bal-Bridge North at 10240 Collins Avenue, carry addresses that do not read as Surfside ones. Check the Miami-Dade County property record for the municipality before you rely on it.

Size: a few big towers against many mid-size buildings

Bal Harbour's register is dominated by large buildings. Six of its 16 condominiums have 200 or more units: Harbour House with 451, The Balmoral with 423, Plaza of Bal Harbour with 301, Bal Harbour Center with 269, Oceana Bal Harbour with 240 and Bal Harbour North South with 205. Only two, 10210 Lanai and The Golden Key, have fewer than 30.

Surfside has one condominium of 200 or more units, Solimar at 9559-9595 Collins Avenue with 220. Its next largest are Surf Club Condo with 151, Four Winds with 140, Surfside Towers with 128 and The Manatee with 123. Eight of its 21 have fewer than 60 units, among them Ocean 91 with 42, Regent Palace with 34 and Seaway Villas with 28.

Size changes how an association works. A 400-unit building spreads the cost of a roof, elevators or seawall over many owners, while a 40-unit building puts each owner's share of a special assessment far higher. You can model that with /research/special-assessment-calculator before you look at any specific building.

Age: when each building became a condominium

The register records when each condominium's declaration was recorded, which can be years after construction. Half of Bal Harbour's condominiums were recorded in 1994 or earlier, and six were recorded in 2000 or later. Half of Surfside's were recorded in 1996 or earlier, and nine in 2000 or later.

The oldest recorded dates are in Surfside: Surfside Towers in 1970, and Four Winds and Seaway Villas in 1974. Bal Harbour's oldest are Kenilworth in 1975, The Golden Key in 1976 and The Balmoral in 1978. The newest are Chateau Ocean in Surfside, recorded in 2016, and Oceana Bal Harbour, recorded in 2013.

Age matters more in Florida than it used to. After the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside on June 24, 2021, the state required milestone structural inspections for condominium buildings of three or more habitable stories, and structural integrity reserve studies for buildings of three or more stories. Our guide at /blog/miami-condo-milestone-inspection-sirs explains what each requires and what to ask for.

The buildings we profile in each town

In Bal Harbour our directory profiles three towers. The St. Regis Bal Harbour at 9703 Collins Avenue was completed in 2012, designed by Sieger Suarez; the register lists two condominiums at that address, Bal Harbour Center with 269 units and Bal Harbour North South with 205. Oceana Bal Harbour at 10201 Collins Avenue, designed by Arquitectonica, is at /buildings/oceana-bal-harbour, and Rivage Bal Harbour, at 10245 Collins Avenue and designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, has plans at /buildings/rivage-bal-harbour/floor-plans.

In Surfside our profile is The Residences at The Surf Club, the Four Seasons-branded building at 9011 Collins Avenue designed by Richard Meier and Partners; its plans are at /buildings/surf-club-four-seasons/floor-plans. The register lists Surf Club Condo at that address with 151 units, recorded in 2014. The other Surfside condominiums, from Champlain Towers North to Ocean 88 and The Waves, are listed at /neighborhoods/surfside/buildings.

Walkability by our count

On amenities within a walk, the two towns are almost level. Our walkability pages count 101 everyday amenities mapped in OpenStreetMap within about 1 km of Bal Harbour's centre and 102 around Surfside's, data collected in October 2026. Bal Harbour has more shops (41 to 34) and places to eat and drink (20 to 18); Surfside has more transit stops (29 to 20). Both rank in the middle of the 19 Miami neighborhoods we measure, 12th and 11th.

These are counts of mapped places, not a rating. The method and map are at /neighborhoods/bal-harbour/walk-score and /neighborhoods/surfside/walk-score.

Questions buyers ask about Bal Harbour vs. Surfside condos

How many condo buildings are there in Bal Harbour and Surfside?

Florida DBPR's register lists 16 condominiums with 20 or more units in Bal Harbour, holding 3,050 units, and 21 in Surfside, holding 1,929, as published on Miami Condo HQ's register pages and checked September 27, 2026.

Are Bal Harbour condo buildings bigger than Surfside's?

Generally yes: six of Bal Harbour's 16 registered condominiums have 200 or more units, led by Harbour House with 451, while Surfside has one, Solimar with 220, and eight of its 21 have fewer than 60 units.

Are Bal Harbour and Surfside the same town?

No, Bal Harbour Village and the Town of Surfside are separate municipalities with their own governments and building departments, so permits, inspection records and local rules for a condo come from the town where the building's parcel sits.

Which is more walkable, Bal Harbour or Surfside?

They are nearly identical by our count: 101 mapped everyday amenities within about 1 km of Bal Harbour's centre and 102 around Surfside's, with Bal Harbour ahead on shops and Surfside ahead on transit stops, from OpenStreetMap data collected in October 2026.

What should I check before buying a condo in either town?

Ask the association for its milestone inspection reports and structural integrity reserve study, which Florida law now requires for condominium buildings of three or more stories, and confirm the building's municipality and association records on the county and DBPR registers.

Where to start your own comparison

Open the register page for each town, pick the buildings that fit your size and age preference, and read each one's association page for its legal name and DBPR number. The document checklist at /research/condo-document-checklist lists what to request from the association, and /condo-associations explains who issues each document.