The Coral Gables Sections, Explained: Where Each Kind of Buyer Ends Up

Photo: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0

"I want to buy in Coral Gables" is where most of our Gables conversations start. It is rarely where they end. The city is small, but its sections are so different from one another that the right answer for a buyer who wants a big lot and a dock has almost nothing in common with the right answer for a buyer who wants to walk to dinner. Here is how we sort it.

You want water and privacy

Gables Estates and Cocoplum. Both are gated, both sit on Biscayne Bay with deep-water canals, and both are where the city's largest homes are. Gables Estates has the largest estate lots on the bay. Cocoplum has a private club and a wider range of lot sizes. If a yacht is part of the plan, these are the streets. Expect the longest closings and the most due diligence of anywhere in the Gables.

Gables by the Sea and Sunrise Harbour. Canal-front homes with boat access at a lower entry point than the two estates sections. The water is minutes from the open bay. Houses here range from original 1960s ranches to full rebuilds, so the condition of the seawall and the dock matters as much as the kitchen.

Deering Bay. At the southern tip of the city, gated, with a golf course and a marina. A mix of condominiums and houses, and the quietest of the waterfront choices. Buyers here tend to be looking for a lock-and-leave home with the club as the center of life.

You want a big lot and a canopy

Old Cutler Road. South of the main city, the road runs under a canopy of banyans with the estates of Hammock Oaks, Snapper Creek Lakes and Journey's End off it. Large lots, mature trees, and a feeling of being far from everything while being fifteen minutes from the Grove. Several of these enclaves are gated. This is where buyers go who want land more than they want to walk anywhere.

You want to walk to dinner

The Golden Triangle and downtown. The blocks around Miracle Mile, Giralda Plaza and Ponce de Leon Boulevard. This is the only part of the Gables where you can live without a car for a weekend. Condominiums, townhomes, and most of the city's new construction. The buyer here is often a downsizer from a Gables house, a professional working nearby, or an out-of-town owner who wants a Miami base that runs itself.

You want a classic Gables house

Granada and North Gables. The oldest part of the city, laid out by George Merrick himself, around the Granada Golf Course. Mediterranean homes from the 1920s on streets named for Spanish cities. Many are historically designated, which protects the look of the block and adds a review step to any renovation. Buyers here are buying the architecture as much as the house.

The Coral Way corridor. The banyan tunnel that gave the city its postcard image, with historic homes on and just off the avenue. The same buyer as Granada, with a slightly larger lot and a louder street.

You want the university and the club

Riviera and the University area. Leafy streets of 1950s and 1960s homes between the University of Miami and the Riviera Country Club. Lots are generous, the houses are often ready for a second life, and the location is central to everything. This is where many first Gables purchases happen, and where many of the city's renovations happen.

How we use this

When you call, we will ask how you want to live before we ask what you want to spend. The answer usually points to two sections, and those two sections tell us which streets to drive first. Tell us what you have in mind and we will send you the fit, along with every home currently for sale in the Gables.