Research Says Some Beach Towers Are Settling Unevenly. What Condo Buyers Should Ask

The Real Deal and World Red Eye reported on October 19 that research led by University of Miami professor Falk Amelung finds luxury towers on Miami-Dade's barrier islands settling at uneven rates, with different parts of a building sinking at different speeds. According to World Red Eye, the work used satellite data from 2016 to 2023 on 35 buildings, and the findings do not indicate an immediate threat.

What the peer-reviewed study found

This week's coverage did not link a new paper, so the hard numbers here come from the team's study in Earth and Space Science, published December 13, 2024. It found the 35 buildings sank 2 to 8 centimeters, with the strongest effect in Sunny Isles Beach and some in Surfside, Miami Beach and Bal Harbour. The researchers tied most of it to the weight of new towers and construction vibrations slowly compacting sandy layers inside the limestone. They also reported no movement at Champlain Towers South before its 2021 collapse.

“We found that subsidence in most high-rises slows down over time, but in some cases, it continues at a steady rate.”Falk Amelung, University of Miami

Uneven settlement is the part that costs money. World Red Eye lists the possible effects as cracked facades, warped floors and damaged pipes, and notes that some experts want building codes to require long-term settlement monitoring.

My read

This is not a reason to avoid the beach. It is a reason to read the building's file before you sign. On any tower purchase I ask the association for:

• The milestone inspection and the structural integrity reserve study, and whether either flags cracking, settlement or drainage.
• Engineer reports and repair history for the facade, garage, slab and plumbing risers.
• Any monitoring the board has in place, and any special assessment under discussion.

Our two-part condo due-diligence guide on the Market Desk walks through both inspections in plain English.