North Miami Homes for Sale & Neighborhood Guide

North Miami sits on Biscayne Bay about 10 miles north of downtown Miami. It covers 10.0 square miles, 8.5 of them land, at an elevation of about 7 feet, across ZIP codes 33161, 33167, 33168, 33181 and 33160. The 2020 Census counted 60,191 residents, up from 58,786 in 2010, making it the seventh-largest city in Miami-Dade County. City Hall is at 776 NE 125th Street.

The city began as Arch Creek, a settlement named for a natural limestone bridge where Charles J. Ihle put down roots in 1891. On February 5, 1926, thirty-eight of forty-seven registered voters, encouraged by developers Earl Irons and Arthur Griffing, voted to incorporate as the Town of Miami Shores. After a Florida Supreme Court decision removed oceanfront property from the town limits, it was renamed the Town of North Miami in 1931. The 1940 census counted 1,973 inhabitants; a new charter enacted on May 27, 1953 created the City of North Miami. The city is marking its 100th year in 2026.

The result is a city with several distinct faces: a mid-century grid of inland streets west of Biscayne Boulevard, gated canal neighborhoods on the bay, the nearly 200-acre FIU Biscayne Bay Campus on NE 151st Street, and the SoLé Mia project rising on a former landfill east of Biscayne Boulevard.

Most of North Miami's houses date from the 1950s boom, when the city was described as one of the fastest-growing towns in the United States. Inland, the blocks between NE 2nd Avenue and Biscayne Boulevard and along NE 125th and 135th streets hold one-story concrete-block houses, many since enlarged, on standard city lots.

On the bay, Keystone Point and Sans Souci Estates were developed in the 1950s with channels cut through the land so that homes could have docks with a short run to Biscayne Bay. Keystone Point is gated, with its own homeowners association, and the houses there range from original ranches to rebuilt two-story homes. Sans Souci Estates mixes mid-century modern and Spanish-influenced houses of two to seven bedrooms.

The newest housing is at SoLé Mia, a 184-acre project east of Biscayne Boulevard on the former Biscayne Landing site, developed by Turnberry Associates and LeFrak. Plans call for more than 4,000 residences around Laguna Solé, an 11-acre man-made lagoon; the first phase, The Shoreline, delivered 397 units in January 2019, and UHealth leased about 10 acres for a medical facility that same year. Elsewhere, the city runs an owner-occupied rehabilitation program offering up to $60,000 in home repairs for qualifying owners.

Biscayne Boulevard, US 1, runs the length of the city north–south, and NE 125th Street is the main east–west street through the civic center. I-95 runs along the western side, with interchanges at NW 125th and 135th streets. Rome2rio puts downtown Miami at about 9.8 road miles, Miami International Airport at 11.9, Miami Beach at 11, Aventura at 6 and Doral at 15.2.

The city runs the NoMi Express, a free trolley service that began in December 2004, and a Freebee electric on-demand service inside city limits. Miami-Dade Metrobus routes cover Biscayne Boulevard and the major streets. There is no Metrorail station in North Miami.

The civic center on NE 125th Street holds City Hall at 776 and the Museum of Contemporary Art at 770, which began in 1981 as the Center for Contemporary Art and moved into its 23,000-square-foot Gwathmey Siegel building in 1996. The North Miami Public Library at 835 NE 132nd Street holds more than 60,000 items.

Oleta River State Park, created in 1986, is the largest urban park in the Florida State Park system at 1,033 acres of mangrove shoreline, kayak trails and off-road bike trails, and it wraps around the FIU Biscayne Bay Campus. Closer in, Enchanted Forest Elaine Gordon Park at 1725 NE 135th Street is a 22-acre preserve bordering Arch Creek with a nature center, walking path, petting zoo and pony rides. Arch Creek Park, an 8-acre site at NE 135th Street and Biscayne Boulevard, protects the natural bridge the city was named for. Cagni Park at 13498 NE 8th Avenue has basketball courts, a multipurpose field and a walking track, and Griffing Park covers 2.5 acres.

The nearest hospital is Jackson North Medical Center at 160 NW 170th Street in North Miami Beach, a 382-bed facility with 24-hour adult and pediatric emergency services.

North Miami High School at 13110 NE 8th Avenue opened in 1951 as Edward L. Constance Junior-Senior High and has run an International Baccalaureate program since January 1990; its campus was rebuilt on an adjacent site in the early 2010s. Alonzo and Tracy Mourning High School at 2601 NE 151st Street opened in August 2009 two blocks north of the FIU campus and serves the eastern part of the city. David Lawrence Jr. K-8 Center at 15000 Bay Vista Boulevard and Natural Bridge Elementary at 1650 NE 141st Street serve the bayside neighborhoods.

Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus is the largest branch campus in the State University System, with more than 7,000 students on a waterfront campus of nearly 200 acres that houses the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, journalism, marine science and the Royal Caribbean performance facility. Johnson & Wales University ran a North Miami campus from 1992 until 2021.

The city provides its own police, public works, library and parks. Its Floodplain Management Team at 12400 NE 8th Avenue handles elevation certificates and flood-zone questions.

Start with the flood zone. The city's mapping page defines zones A, AE, AH, VE and X; AE corresponds to flood depths greater than 3 feet, AH to shallow flooding of 1 to 3 feet, and VE to coastal areas with storm-wave hazards. Inside any Special Flood Hazard Area, a federally backed mortgage requires flood insurance, and the city's participation in the Community Rating System can earn a discount of up to 20 percent on an NFIP policy. The canal neighborhoods and the streets along Arch Creek are where to look hardest, and an elevation certificate can move the premium.

On a 1950s house, order a four-point inspection and a wind mitigation report; both drive the insurance quote. Ask for the roof permit date and the permit history for every addition and enclosed carport. In Keystone Point, get the homeowners association documents and rules before you write the offer.

In SoLé Mia or any building three stories and taller, Florida's milestone inspection and reserve-study rules apply as the buildings age; for new construction, get the developer's warranty in writing and compare the first-year budget with the dues you were quoted.

Buyers in North Miami are comparing you against the coastal cities to the east and against newer product at SoLé Mia, so the listing should be specific: the year, the roof date, hurricane protection, whether the lot is on a canal and the dock's condition. A house that is easy to insure is easy to sell here.

Canal-front homes in Keystone Point and Sans Souci trade against each other, not against inland ranches, so pull comparables from the same street type. Close out open permits and violations before listing; the city's code office is active, and a clean file shortens the contract period.