Miami’s luxury market is known for new towers and celebrity buyers. But some of its most prized addresses are old. In my video on where Miami’s old money lives, I toured six enclaves where history, privacy and the water matter more than flash. Here is what sets each one apart.

Where the Old Money ACTUALLY Lives in Miami — Joe Sells MiamiWatch Joe Biscaha’s original video. The supporting article adds practical context and updated research.Watch on YouTube

Camp Biscayne, Coconut Grove

Coconut Grove is one of Miami’s oldest neighborhoods. Tucked inside it is Camp Biscayne, a gated enclave of about 26 homes under old oaks and banyan trees. It began in 1903 as a winter resort started by Grove pioneer Ralph Middleton Munroe. Today it is a quiet residential community near Biscayne Bay.

Gables Estates, Coral Gables

George Merrick planned Coral Gables in the 1920s, and the city incorporated in 1925. Its Mediterranean Revival homes and tree-lined streets still follow that vision. In the early 1960s, Alcoa founder Arthur Vining Davis developed Gables Estates, a guard-gated waterfront community with sea-walled canals. Buyers there must join the Gables Estates Club.

La Gorce Island, Miami Beach

La Gorce Island sits in North Beach next to La Gorce Country Club. The club’s original golf course was finished in 1927, built partly on material dredged from Biscayne Bay. Many island homes mix Mediterranean Revival style with nods to Miami Beach’s Art Deco era.

Star Island

Star Island is a man-made island from Miami Beach’s 1920s building boom. One bridge leads in, and a guard post watches who crosses. It has drawn celebrities and business leaders for decades. Rosie O’Donnell’s former home at 43 Star Island Drive listed for $54 million in late 2024. It sold for $36 million in August 2025, after a price cut.

Fisher Island

Fisher Island has no bridge or causeway. People get there by ferry or private boat. In the 1920s, William K. Vanderbilt II got part of the island from Carl Fisher in a trade for his yacht. He built a Mediterranean-style estate there. That mansion is now the center of the Fisher Island Club.

North Bay Road

North Bay Road runs along Biscayne Bay on the west side of Miami Beach. Its bayfront mansions sit behind hedges and trees, not big gates. Some families have owned homes on the street for decades. Here, a lot on the water is worth far more than a similar house one block inland.

What these places share

These enclaves are different, but they share three things: old roots, privacy and water. That also brings real costs. Older homes, seawalls and docks need upkeep. Gated and club communities have their own rules and fees. Flood and wind insurance can be steep. Anyone shopping here should study those costs as closely as the view.

Buying or selling in Miami’s historic neighborhoods? The Miami Lookout is founded by Joe Biscaha, a Miami realtor with Joe Sells Miami.