In ZIP code 33019, which covers Hollywood Beach, 64 of the 94 townhouse and condo sales that closed in the third quarter of 2026 were paid in cash. That one ratio says more about an older beach condo than the asking price does. Most buildings on this barrier island are hard to finance, the buyers who can close without a loan are getting fewer, and the city has just voted to let much taller new towers compete for those same buyers.
The October vote raising height limits on parts of the beach has been read as good news for anyone who owns or buys there now. The city's own documents point the other way. The overlay works through optional bonuses and its effective date depends on a county step, while the new towers it invites would compete with existing units. If you're touring a 1960s or 1970s building near the Broadwalk this fall, you probably have more room to negotiate than the median price suggests.
Why Two Out of Three Beach Sales Closed Without a Loan
Lending for condos across South Florida tightened again this summer. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac eliminated the limited review option for many condo loans on Aug. 3, 2026, according to MIAMI REALTORS. That means more buildings now get a full lender review before a mortgage is approved. The same release reported that only 21 of the 2,397 condominium buildings in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties are approved for FHA loans.
Interest rates made it harder still. MIAMI REALTORS put the mortgage rate at 7.46% as of Oct. 13, 2026, up nearly 0.6 percentage points since Sept. 1.
So a seller in an older beach building is mostly selling to cash buyers. And the forward-looking numbers show that group shrinking.
The Beach Median Held Steady. The Other Numbers Didn't.
At first glance, Florida Realtors' Q3 2026 report, released Oct. 16, makes 33019 look stable. The median condo and townhouse price rose 2.8% from a year earlier to $442,250, while Hollywood as a whole fell 17.1% to $269,500.
A median only tells you the middle sale. In the same quarter, the average sale price in 33019 dropped 17.0% to $513,304. When the median holds and the average falls that much, it usually means fewer high-end units are selling. It doesn't mean every unit is holding its value.
Here is the same Q3 report broken out by ZIP code, with Hallandale for comparison.
| Q3 2026, townhouses and condos | 33019 Hollywood Beach | Hollywood citywide | 33024 Hollywood | 33009 Hallandale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $442,250, up 2.8% | $269,500, down 17.1% | $281,000, down 5.4% | $244,950, down 8.6% |
| New pending sales | 77, down 32.5% | 212, down 9.0% | 41, down 10.9% | 163, up 7.2% |
| Active listings | 561 | 956 | 83 | 976 |
| Months of supply | 15.9 | 13.5 | 5.9 | 19.0 |
In 33019, new pending sales fell by about a third, and pending inventory, the units under contract but not yet closed, dropped 50.9% to 26. Q3 closings mostly reflect deals signed in late spring and early summer. The thin pending pipeline is a better guide to how this fall will feel. Countywide, MIAMI REALTORS calls 10.2 months of supply a buyer's market and puts the balanced range at six to nine months. The beach ZIP was at 15.9.
The sales that did close took a median of 83 days to go under contract and sold for 92.6% of the original list price. At those numbers, a listing that has sat since summer is close to the typical one.
What the Commission Actually Passed
Axios Hollywood reported that on Oct. 7, the City Commission voted 5-2 to create a Hollywood Beach Overlay District. It lasts up to five years and covers six precincts with relaxed height limits, on a beach where most buildings have been held to 65 feet. Here are the height limits, as reported by Axios and The Real Deal:
- Hollywood Beach Resort precinct, between Harrison and Tyler streets: 340 feet, plus another 150 feet through a historic rehabilitation incentive
- Central Beach Commercial, between Carolina and Tyler streets: 180 feet, lowered from 200 after first reading
- North-Central Beach Residential: 150 feet
- North Beach, South Beach Residential and South-Central Beach Residential: 200 feet
The overlay also gives the city a pool of 2,300 hotel rooms and a pool of 500 extra residential units that developers can apply for. Axios reported that Commissioner Kevin Biederman described the overlay as an alternative to Live Local, the state law that lets developers bypass local zoning if a project includes affordable housing.
The city's own paperwork adds two conditions to those height limits.
- It's voluntary and works through bonuses. The city staff report says owners who don't seek the optional bonuses keep their existing zoning, and the overlay itself approves no project by right. The feasibility study behind it recommended against a uniform beach-wide height increase.
- Its effective date depends on a county step. Section 11 of the ordinance says the overlay section and its regulating map take effect only after the Comprehensive Plan amendments adopted Sept. 16, 2026 become effective and the Broward County Planning Council recertifies the amended plan.
Projects that apply for bonuses also have to address transitions, stepbacks, shadows and view corridors. None of the city materials say which existing buildings could lose a view. That depends on which projects actually get approved.
The One Local Price Tag on Redevelopment Value
When a building's land is allowed to hold a 200-foot tower, people start talking about owners being bought out. Hollywood Beach has exactly one recent example of how that works, and it's slow. The Real Deal reported in 2022 that an entity controlled by Chetrit Group bought 102 units at the Hollywood Beach Resort, 101 North Ocean Drive, for $15.5 million, an average of about $152,400 per unit. The closings wrapped up in 2023, and the property then sat vacant. In July 2026, The Real Deal reported that Related Group and BH Group had the 398-unit resort under contract for $100 million.
That site is a historic condo-hotel in the precinct with the most generous height limits, and it took years to assemble. Ending a regular residential condominium faces a high bar under state law. Section 718.117 of the Florida Statutes generally requires approval from at least 80% of voting interests for an optional termination, and the termination can't go forward if 5% or more reject it. The one local assembly on record took years to complete.
The New Towers Competing for the Same Buyers
The overlay's real effect on today's buyer is the supply it could add. Several large projects are already moving through Hollywood:
- Icon Beach Waterfront Residences: Florida Trend reported that Related Group and BH Group got $360 million in construction financing for this 38-story, 350-unit project with a private marina and beach club access. Construction started in June, with completion scheduled for 2028.
- Portofino at 1301 S. Ocean Drive: The Sun Sentinel reported the city's final approval by a 6-1 vote for a 30-story tower with 126 luxury condos and 84 workforce apartments. A lawsuit challenging the public-land deal is still unresolved, and the next hearing was set for Oct. 28.
- The Circ at Young Circle: Florida Trend reported a $121.4 million foreclosure suit against this mixed-use project, which has 386 residential units. The suit says the 36 units already sold aren't subject to the mortgage.
New towers with marinas and beach clubs draw from the same affluent buyers, often paying cash, who now make up most of the closed sales in 33019. MIAMI REALTORS also notes that new construction and pre-construction sales are largely left out of its MLS-based sales totals, so the closed-sale figures above don't capture the new-tower side of the market.
Before You Make an Offer on an Older Beach Unit
- Ask your lender about the building first. With limited review gone, find out early whether the building can pass a full review. If it can't, you're competing in a cash-only pool.
- Price against pending sales, not the median. In 33019, new pending sales dropped by about a third in Q3 2026. That's a better measure of current demand than a median that rose because fewer high-end units sold.
- Find your building's precinct on the city's map. Hollywood posted an official regulating plan map showing all six precincts, with labels from Beach Boulevard down to Hallandale Beach Boulevard. If the lot next door is in a 200-foot precinct, that's a fact about your future view.
- Ask an attorney before pricing in a buyout. Termination thresholds are set by state statute, and the one local example of assembling units took years.
FAQ
When does the Hollywood Beach Overlay District take effect? The ordinance makes the overlay section and its map effective only after the related Comprehensive Plan amendments take effect and the Broward County Planning Council recertifies the plan.
Does the overlay change zoning on my building automatically? The city staff report describes it as voluntary. Owners who don't seek the bonuses keep their existing zoning and as-of-right entitlements.
How does inland Hollywood compare? It varies by ZIP code. In Q3 2026, 33024 had 5.9 months of supply and units went under contract in a median of 43 days, while 33020 had 19.2 months and 125 days.
This post is general information, not legal, financial or lending advice. Please confirm your own building's financing status and any termination or zoning questions with a qualified attorney or lender.
If you're weighing an older Hollywood Beach unit, the Ramona Bautista Team can pull the pending sales for that specific building and show where it falls on the city's precinct map before you make an offer. Owners in 33019 can also request a complimentary valuation based on current Q3 pending data rather than last spring's closings.
