I will be starting out my intern year at Jackson. As far as the housing, Iam not a local, but my wife was born and raised in Miami. We are currently looking for housing. Based on my preliminary research, including a trip to Miami. I can tell you that unless you have/willing to spend at least 425k then a house central to jackson is completely out of the question.
There are a few new condo developments either about to be done or on the books to be started shortly in Coral gables. I have seen that these range about 230/sq. ft on up. Another nice thing about Coral gables besides the great location is the property taxes are lower than the rest of Miami! If you are thinking of brickell then you are thinking big and I like your style but expect to pay at least 325/sq. ft. Coconut grove is very expensive as well, but they do have some "reasonably" priced townhomes, condos there are also some new developments going on there as well. In addition coconut grove is still undergoing gentrification therefore there are still some "tender" areas that may not only represent an affordable option but a investmet opportunity as well.
A good place to start is realtor.com, just use the map search feature and zero in on the zip codes of your desired area. Secondly, miamiherald.com homes section has some info as well as listings.
Just some words of wisdom as you start your home buying sojurn in S. Fla one of the most notoriously corupt realestate markets around. Trust no one. Stated another way, TRUST NO one. Carefully read everything before you sign, and if you cant, then hire an attorney who can, preferaably one NOT from S. Fla. I hope I am not scaring you, just giving you words of advice that hopefully will make the experince enjoyable instead of a nightmare. Good Luck
If/when I find a competent realestate person willing to split their commission with me 50/50 I will gladly forward their info to you.
