Summer may be winding down, but there’s still plenty of time to throw an epic end-of-summer bash. The following Florida properties—some move-in ready, others under construction—are sure to guarantee a good time for you and your friends.

Celebrated Italian architect Piero Lissoni has completed ‘Villa Lissoni’ — a single-family residence at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach.

In Miami, where the going rates for condominium sales can drop jaws, real-estate developers and architects are continually designing ways to distinguish properties in the crowded marketplace.

Five years ago, the housing market was in such bad shape in Miami that developers stopped building. Today, 94 towers are under construction–three featuring penthouses with price tags of $50 million or higher. Two with similar list prices have already gone into contract.

The luxury residential development at 4701 North Meridian Avenue, on the site of the former Miami Heart Institute, will have 111 residences and 15 stand-alone villas. With prices from $2 million to $40 million, the development launched sales in spring 2014. Now 50 percent of the units have contracts and deposits.

Evan Speiser, a 30-year-old vice president at the Speiser Organization, agreed. Mr. Speiser, whose firm is a family-run business that specializes in real estate development, acquisition and management, currently rents a loft on the Lower East Side. Rather than buy in New York, he decided to purchase a four-bedroom apartment at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach.

Home buyers determined to get a beachfront property are instead opting for marina homes. Dockside living is often cheaper, and boats and water toys are just steps away.
Kasidy Alves and his 13-year-old son, Ryder, both surf in amateur competitions, which played a large role in the family’s recent house purchase. “We’ve always wanted water—to be on it, near it, or have access to it,” Mr Alves said.

It’s been 10 years since the arrival of Richard Meier’s twin glass towers on the West Village’s Perry Street — whose iconic architecture and celebrity residents helped the project achieve record pricing. Yet while the bold-named buyers were certainly newsworthy, the towers also came with an undeniable downside: The apartments’ concrete, open-plan interiors required ample time, money and effort to make livable — despite their original seven-figure price tags.