Ocean Three, Sunny Isles Beach: What Buyers Should Check

Ocean Three (also written Ocean III) is a 215-residence oceanfront condominium at 18911 Collins Avenue, toward the north end of Sunny Isles Beach, completed in 2003 by the Related Group and designed by Sieger Suarez — the third tower in Related's Ocean series, after Ocean One and Ocean Two. It is a Y-shaped tower with wraparound balconies on the floor plans, so most residences are surrounded on three sides by glass, with ocean views to the east and Intracoastal and city views to the west. There are no one-bedrooms here: the building is mostly two-bedrooms (153 of them), with 44 three-bedrooms and 18 four-bedrooms, from 1,591 square feet up to a 5,901-square-foot penthouse. The amenity program is full resort-style — a heated oceanfront pool and spa, a rooftop jacuzzi, tennis and pickleball, a fitness center and spa, an on-site restaurant, beach service, valet, and 24-hour security — and the monthly bill runs about $0.85 per square foot, consistent across current listings. Two things a buyer must look into before anything else: the building was measured at about 4 centimeters of subsidence between 2016 and 2023 in the University of Miami's 2024 study of barrier-island towers, and as a 2003 oceanfront building, its first milestone inspection falls around 2028 on the 25-year coastal rule — close enough that the reserve position and any SIRS planning are live questions now, not distant ones.

The facts

• Address: 18911 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160
• Completed: 2003 (one listing says 2004)
• Stories: 37 (MLS-based sources say 35, one older directory says 36)
• Residences: 215
• Developer: Related Group of South Florida
• Architect: Sieger Suarez (The Sieger Suarez Architectural Partnership)
• Unit mix: 153 two-bedrooms, 44 three-bedrooms, 18 four-bedrooms
• Unit sizes: about 1,591 to 5,901 sq ft; standard residences up to 3,945 sq ft, topped by a 5,901 sq ft penthouse
• Waterfront: oceanfront, direct beach access, with over 300 feet of beach frontage per one building directory

Amenities and day-to-day living

Ocean Three's amenity program is resort-scale: a three-story lobby and porte-cochère, a heated oceanfront pool and spa with a sundeck, loungers and cabanas, a rooftop jacuzzi and roof deck, sauna and steam rooms, a fitness center and spa with a massage room, tennis and pickleball courts, a billiards and game room, a business center, a community/party room, barbecue and picnic areas, bike storage, and an on-site restaurant/café — plus beach service with chairs and towels, valet parking, and 24-hour security and concierge. Residences have private elevator entrances into the foyer, floor-to-ceiling windows, marble floors, and Italian kitchens with custom cabinetry by Febal-USA as a standard feature, and the Y-shaped plan gives most homes wraparound balconies. The building trades steadily: 6 closed sales in the recent period at an average of about $771 per square foot and about 91% of the last asking price, and 139 recorded sales in total. About 10 residences were listed for sale in November 2026, from about $1,225,000 to $3,300,000, at an average asking price of about $876 per square foot. Rentals were listed from about $5,750 a month for a two-bedroom (#1602) to about $16,900 a month for a four-bedroom (#901).

What to check before you buy

• Monthly cost, honestly. No verified building-wide dues figure was found. Homes.com gives a range of $1,350 to $3,356 a month. Across current listings, three per-unit examples line up strikingly well: $1,817 a month for a 2,136 sq ft three-bedroom (#506), $1,619 a month for a 1,903 sq ft two-bedroom (#1004), and $1,354 a month for a 1,591 sq ft two-bedroom (#1102) — each working out to about $0.85 per square foot per month. Homes.com says the fee includes common areas, hot water, insurance, pool and recreation facilities, security, trash, and water. Confirm what the dues cover for the residence you are considering, including whether any special assessment is already levied or pending — and use the monthly-cost worksheet in the Buyer's Guide, not just the mortgage payment.
• Milestone inspection — coming due in about two years. Florida milestone inspection rules generally apply at 30 years, or 25 years within 3 miles of the coast. This is an oceanfront building completed in 2003, so its first milestone inspection falls around 2028 on the 25-year coastal rule — a derived estimate, not a confirmed date. Ask the association whether the milestone inspection and the Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) are already scheduled or underway, what reserves are funded, and whether any assessments are planned or already approved. Under Florida's SIRS rules, reserves for SIRS items are no longer waivable — but confirm this building's position with its association. No verified current reserve or assessment figures were found in public sources.
• Subsidence — ask what the association knows and whether any monitoring is in place. The building was named in the 2024 University of Miami study that measured subsidence at 35 barrier-island high-rises: the study's own text says Ocean III and the Bentley Residences development site exhibited about 4 cm of line-of-sight displacement over 2016–2023, one of the larger figures in the study. The study does not establish an immediate safety threat, and the City of Sunny Isles Beach has said it received no reports of settlement-related damage — but a buyer should ask the association what it knows, whether any engineering review or monitoring followed the study, and whether anything in the milestone or SIRS work addresses it.
• Owner-occupancy and financing. Lenders check the owner-occupancy ratio before approving a mortgage. No verified figure was found for this building. Confirm the current ratio with the association and talk to your lender early, before you fall for a residence.
• Rentals. This is a long-term rental building, not a short-term one — but the listing record is not perfectly clean. One current rental listing states the unit is for an annual lease only, and another states ANNUAL RENTAL, MINIMUM ONE YEAR LEASE. Yet a two-bedroom (#1602) is listed as available now through February 2027 — a term of only a few months — which does not sit with a strict one-year minimum. Confirm the current lease rules, any rental caps, and the association approval process with the association before buying for income — and do not buy here expecting Airbnb-style income.
• Pets. Homes.com lists pets as allowed with restrictions, and a current rental listing for a unit here says dogs and cats are allowed. But a CondoBlackBook rental record for unit #2705 says No Pets for Renters. No verified size, breed, or count limit was found. Confirm the current rules — including any size, number, or breed limits, and whether renters may keep pets at all — with the association before you buy if a pet is part of the plan.

Who this building suits

Ocean Three suits a buyer who wants a full-service, resort-style oceanfront tower in the north end of Sunny Isles Beach — a two- to four-bedroom residence of at least 1,591 square feet, wraparound balconies on three sides of glass, a heated oceanfront pool, a rooftop jacuzzi, tennis and pickleball, an on-site restaurant, and beach service downstairs — with a monthly bill of about $0.85 per square foot, and who is comfortable doing real due diligence on a 23-year-old building: the milestone inspection due around 2028, the reserves, and the subsidence figure in the University of Miami study. It is a poor fit for a buyer who wants a small or low-priced entry, a short-term rental, or a firm pet answer from public sources: the smallest residences are 1,591 square feet, the cheapest recent listing is about $1,225,000, the rental record points to annual leases, and the pet rules for renters conflict between sources and must be confirmed with the association. If you are choosing between this and another tower, send Mike the buildings you are comparing and he will walk through the finances with you, building by building.