DON'T MISS A THING

Palm-fringed canals and Biscayne Bay’s glassy sweep still lure buyers from New York to São Paulo. Over the past 12 months, the ten agents below steered more than $4 billion in waterfront deals—headlined by a $923 million year for the Jills Zeder Group and $735 million for Dina Goldentayer. We ranked them by closed volume, then fact-checked reputation, neighborhood mastery, and climate savvy so you can choose a broker who keeps seawater—and surprises—outside the living room.

Our Ranking Criteria

We built this list on facts, not fluff. Here’s how we separated proven rain-makers from echo-chamber favorites.

First, we chased hard numbers. Closed waterfront sales for 2023–2024 carried the most weight. If an agent didn’t clear about $100 million on the water—or land at least one record sale—they never made our long list.

Next came waterfront know-how. Candidates needed day-to-day command of flood zones, seawall rules, and insurance hurdles. One key filter: FEMA’s 2024 map revisions pushed another 45,000 Miami-Dade structures into high-risk territory, forcing many owners to buy flood coverage overnight.

FEMA 2024 Miami-Dade coastal flood risk map

MLS-integrated portals such as SquareFoot Homes let buyers browse the current listings with each home’s FEMA flood designation displayed beside the price—its recent Vero Beach entry, for instance, is flagged “Not in flood zone”—so agents can confirm insurance requirements before they even pick up the keys.

That instant clarity turns flood-zone research from a half-hour map hunt into a glance, keeping showings on schedule when out-of-state buyers fly in for one-day tours.

Reputation followed. We reviewed five-star ratings, referral rates, and press coverage to confirm each pick delivers premium service when the cameras switch off.

Finally, we looked at professional honors such as RealTrends, The Wall Street Journal, and in-house brokerage awards to break close calls.

The result is a roster that marries towering sales volume with the nuts-and-bolts expertise you need when a paradise listing meets South Florida’s rising tide.

At a Glance: Who Really Rules the Waterfront?

Numbers tell the clearest story, so we lined the market leaders up side by side. Every dollar figure below comes from the latest county-wide rankings compiled by The Real Deal and verified through MLS tallies.

*Team estimate based on Elliman Pinnacle disclosures.

Scan the table, and you’ll spot raw volume first, but niche strengths matter too. Elmes commands deep-water dockage expertise, while Angle quietly dominates Palm Beach off-market trades. Those specialisms can tip the balance when you’re choosing the right captain for a high-stakes purchase or sale.

1. The Jills Zeder Group: Miami Beach’s Long-reigning Queens

Walk along Star Island or drive through Gables Estates, and their sold signs dominate the view. Founders Jill Hertzberg, Jill Eber, and Judy Zeder closed about $923 million in waterfront sales last year, a figure that outpaces many boutique brokerages over an entire decade.

Jills Zeder Group, Miami Beach waterfront luxury real estate team

Their edge is experience paired with precision. After more than 30 years in the same ZIP codes, they know which seawalls were just raised, which docks fit a 120-footer, and which owners may entertain an off-market offer at the right price.

Clients often call them before architects do. Need a variance for a new boat lift? They already have the city planner’s number. Sellers rely on them to set record ask prices, while buyers trust them to spot overhyped listings and keep negotiations courteous.

In short, the Jills Zeder Group doesn’t just sell Miami’s premier waterfront properties; their performance sets the market standard.

2. Dina Goldentayer: The Social-media Deal Machine

Dina Goldentayer rarely waits for buyers to come to her listings. She can land a helicopter on a lawn, film a two-minute tour, and share it with 111,000 Instagram followers before sunset. The approach works: in 2023 she closed about $735 million in waterfront property, ranking second in Miami-Dade.

Beyond the spotlight, her strength is due diligence. She walks clients through elevation certificates, highlights streets that flood during king tides, and identifies homes with grandfathered insurance rates that save tens of thousands of dollars each year. That balance of showmanship and precision led Jeff Bezos to a $79 million Star Island estate and delivered a full-price sale on a $45 million Venetian Islands home in the same quarter.

Sellers value her global reach; buyers trust her honesty when a view outweighs a floor plan. In a market driven by speed and visibility, Dina keeps transactions moving smoothly from first showing to closing.

3. Chad Carroll Group: Competitive Edge Across Three Counties

If real estate were a contact sport, Chad Carroll would run the playbook. Viewers first saw him on Million Dollar Listing Miami, but the more telling numbers live in MLS data: about $321 million in waterfront volume last year stretching from Miami Beach to Fort Lauderdale.

Carroll leads a focused team. One advisor covers Sunny Isles penthouses; another knows Fort Lauderdale’s no-fixed-bridge canals; Carroll himself handles eight-figure negotiations. The coordination lets clients tour a Bal Harbour condo at breakfast, inspect a Las Olas megayacht slip by lunch, and agree on terms before dinner.

Persistence drives the results. Carroll tracks every active buyer above $5 million in a color-coded CRM and checks in until the right home appears. Sellers value that follow-through, and buyers appreciate straight talk when a panoramic view inflates price expectations.

The payoff: listings typically close within 97 percent of asking price. For clients who want speed, scale, and decisive guidance, the Chad Carroll Group delivers.

4. Dora Puig: Boutique Mastery on Fisher Island and Beyond

Step onto Fisher Island and many residents know her by one name: Dora. As founder of Luxe Living Realty, she combines academic training in international real estate with practical deal craft. That mix produced about $225 million in waterfront closings last year, including David and Victoria Beckham’s $72 million North Bay Road purchase.

Her compact team is a strength. Dora previews every listing, spots seawall cracks before inspectors arrive, and writes the drone-video scripts that reach buyers worldwide. Clients note that she answers texts quickly, even after hours.

Fisher Island condos remain her specialty. She has closed more sales in Palazzo del Sol than any competitor, often guiding sellers through renovation tweaks that bypass historical-board vetoes and add seven-figure premiums. When Miami-Dade updated storm codes, Dora published a guide on impact-glass requirements for pre-1990 buildings, turning a potential hurdle into an advantage.

In a market where some large teams hand clients off after the first meeting, Dora stays involved through the final walk-through, a commitment that appears on every closing statement.

5. Riley Smith: Biscayne Bay insider, Coral Gables Favorite

Riley Smith skips reality-TV fame and lets performance speak. In Coral Gables—a waterfront maze where bridge clearance and draft depth set pricing—locals call him first. His group closed about $238 million in bay-front sales last year, overtaking many flashier Miami Beach names.

Smith learned these canals from the helm of his own boat, so his listings read like a captain’s chart: mean-tide depths, turning radius for a 70-footer, minutes to open water. Buyers who pilot their craft value that precision, and insurers do as well.

Community ties strengthen his deals. He coaches youth baseball, supports art nights, and greets building inspectors by nickname. That trust leads to quiet wins: off-market trades in Gables Estates or neighbor-to-neighbor sales in Cocoplum where privacy matters more than headlines.

If your ideal home sits south of the Rickenbacker and you need a guide who knows both zoning codes and low-wake zones, Riley is the local expert to call.

6. Tim Elmes: Fort Lauderdale’s Deep-water Dealmaker

Fort Lauderdale calls itself the Venice of America, and Tim Elmes knows its canal grid better than most. Over three decades he has closed more than $1.5 billion in sales, including $200 million last year that kept him at the top of Broward County rankings.

Elmes can glance at a lot and judge if a 100-foot yacht clears the 17th Street Causeway bridge at high tide. That detail matters to boat-owning buyers who cannot risk a bad fit.

His approach is measured and data-forward. No reality TV, no viral videos—just careful analysis backed by a network of captains, marine surveyors, and dock builders. Sellers tap that circle to raise seawalls, install new pilings, and plan landscaping that resists sunny-day flooding before listing.

The payoff: Las Olas estates often trade through Elmes quietly, long before competitors hear a whisper. When draft depth and bridge height drive your purchase, he is the safest navigator on the New River.

7. Niki Higgins: The Coast-to-Coast Connector

While many brokers focus on a single ZIP code, Niki Higgins views South Florida’s 70-mile shoreline as one connected market. Her Seaside Group at Douglas Elliman closed about $150 million in oceanfront and Intracoastal deals last year, moving from Miami Beach penthouses to Boca Raton estates without missing a step.

That range is a strategic advantage. A buyer choosing between Golden Beach and Highland Beach can tour both with one advisor who knows HOA bylaws, seawall heights, and rental limits in each enclave. Sellers win too; Niki often matches Fort Lauderdale condos with New York clients who first asked about Palm Beach.

Her background in luxury marketing shows in thoughtful staging—teak pieces that echo yacht decks and twilight photo shoots timed for pastel skies. Beneath that polish sits technical rigor. She demands current elevation certificates, reviews condo reserve studies after Surfside, and flags FEMA map changes that could inflate insurance costs.

Niki blends wide-angle perspective with detail-level diligence, making her a strong partner when your search spans counties and price brackets.

8. David F. Roberts: Boca Raton’s Private-club Power Broker

Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club is more than an address; it’s a membership. David F. Roberts owns that space, logging about $636 million in waterfront sales last year inside the gated enclave.

His client list mirrors the club’s roster—CEOs, pro athletes, and long-time members who prefer quiet trades. Roberts knows which lots support a 100-foot slip, which fairway homes avoid HOA lift limits, and how to steer offers through the design committee without bruising egos.

Buyers value his fluency in club culture; sellers count on his discretion. Many deals close off-market yet still reset local records. For anyone seeking Palm Beach County prestige without Miami spotlight, Roberts is the first call.

9. Christian Angle: Palm Beach Island’s Off-market Specialist

Christian Angle rarely needs the MLS. His boutique firm moved about $549 million in waterfront property last year, including the $148 million Casa El Sinore estate—one of Palm Beach Island’s highest sales on record.

Angle’s network spans family offices, art advisers, and yacht captains, giving him early sight of owners willing to sell quietly. He reviews estate-setback rules, seawall permits, and landmark-commission guidelines before a property even hits his desk, letting buyers act fast with full knowledge of constraints.

Sellers trust him to protect privacy while still reaching qualified prospects; buyers rely on his ability to surface homes that never appear online. When discretion tops publicity, Angle is the phone call that opens Palm Beach’s most guarded doors.

10. Suzanne Frisbie: Palm Beach Market Maker

Suzanne Frisbie knows every seawall from Worth Avenue to Jupiter Inlet. Working with Corcoran, she logged about $419 million in waterfront sales last year and co-listed the $150 million Tarpon Island estate that re-set local pricing.

Frisbie combines data and intuition. She tracks deed transfers daily, studies FEMA updates, and keeps a running list of pre-code homes that need elevation work before resale. That rigor helps buyers budget renovations accurately and lets sellers price confidently.

Her client base includes long-time Palm Beach families and new tech wealth relocating from the West Coast. She introduces them to trusted architects, seawall contractors, and insurance brokers so deals stay on schedule even when supply chains tighten.

Whether you want a classic Mediterranean on North Lake Trail or a modern build in Jupiter, Frisbie’s local knowledge and steady negotiation style get waterfront contracts signed.

Wrapping Up

South Florida’s waterfront market moves fast, and these ten agents and teams prove they have the volume, local mastery, and technical savvy to keep pace. When seawalls, storm codes, and record-setting prices converge, their expertise keeps the tide in your favor.

More to Love!

Top Real Estate Trends in Bellevue in 2026: What Buyers and Sellers Should Expect?
Palm Beach Waterfront Real Estate Market Guide 2026