Miami / Ft. Lauderdale Home and House Values - Find Current Home Prices in Florida

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The first residents of southern Florida were the Tequesta Indians, who discovered the Miami area more than 10,000 years ago. The land remained theirs until the 16th century when the Spanish claimed it as their own. The area's greatest change came thanks to a visionary Cleveland widow named Julia Tuttle. In 1891, Tuttle purchased 640 acres on the north bank of the Miami River and moved her family into the abandoned Fort Dallas buildings. Within four years, Tuttle--the "mother of Miami"--convinced Standard Oil co-founder Henry Flagler to extend his railroad to Miami, build a luxury hotel, and lay out a new town. In 1896, the railroad arrived and the city of Miami was incorporated.

Miami Beach is currently undergoing a renaissance with more than $1 billion being invested in new and historic hotels. The historic South Beach strip has been completely renovated and is one of the top tourist attractions in the nation. The collection of newly constructed four-star hotels and resorts are also attracting a huge number of guests. In 2002, for the second year in a row, Miami Beach's South Beach was named America's Top Urban Beach. For several consecutive years, the Travel Channel has selected South Beach as one of the top 10 beaches in the world --the only beach in the continental United States to be honored with this recognition.

Nearly 300 miles of navigable waterways crisscross Broward County, which is how Ft. Lauderdale got its nickname: "The Venice of America." If you love water, Fort Lauderdale is a dream come true. The city's annual indoor boat show is the world's largest. The Christmas parade isn't a bunch of floats winding down main street; it's a bunch of boats floating down the Intracoastal Waterway. Fort Lauderdale is so obsessed with water, there's even an International Swimming Hall of Fame with unusual aquatic memorabilia like Mark Spitz's starting block from the Olympics and a live-size wax sculpture of Johnny Weissmuller.

Historic homes such as the Stranahan House and Bonnet House offer a glimpse of the hardships settlers endured in the early part of this century. A five-story IMAX movie screen and hands-on exhibits for kids draw thousands to the Museum of Science and Discovery. And the $50 million Broward Center for the Performing Arts now lures those who once jetted off to New York for opera and theater.

For new or expanding businesses, Fort Lauderdale offers one of the best business climates in Florida. Located in the heart of Southeast Florida, with convenient, efficient transportation and communication resources, Fort Lauderdale is fast becoming an international business hub with expanding global business opportunities in the Americas, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. A diverse labor pool, excellent quality of life, and progressive city government make Fort Lauderdale an unbeatable location for businesses to take root and succeed.

Fort Lauderdale's outstanding quality of life results from an unsurpassed combination of cultural, recreational, and educational amenities that have attracted a highly trained, well-educated, diverse work force. The world famous Fort Lauderdale Beach, the downtown Riverwalk, the Center for the Performing Arts and the Museum of Art, the Swimming Hall of Fame, Las Olas Boulevard, are but a few of the landmarks that flourish in Fort Lauderdale.