🏆 Residential: The top home sale to hit records in South Florida was in Miami, where the 4,400-square-foot at 733 Belle Meade Boulevard changed hands for $9.2 million. The seller was an LLC tied to entrepreneur Andrew Sieja and his wife, philanthropist Jessica Sieja. The buyer was Joshua Keller. The waterfront property has five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms.  It last sold in 2021 for $8.3 million. It went on the market in January for $10 million. Miltiadis Kastanis with Compass had the listing, and Dan Hechtkopf, also with Compass, brought the buyer.

🏆 Commercial: The priciest commercial deal was in Hollywood, where the hotel known as the Rooftop Resort at 1215 North Ocean Drive sold for $6.9 million. Built in the 1970s, the property spans 16,500 square feet and has 34 rooms. The seller was an LLC tied to Pamela Riccio and the buyer was an LLC managed by Michael Delouya, Thierry Cohen and Daniel Benhamou. The Rotella Group had the listing.

📊 Residential: In Miami Beach, a 4,500-square-foot condo at 1011 West 48th Street sold for $8 million or roughly $1,800 per square foot. The seller was a company managed by Ansir Junaid, founder of the Junaid Group, which operates business across a range of industries from real estate to healthcare, and the buyer was an entity led by Robert Curran. The unit, which has four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms, previously sold in 2023 for $8.3 million. Its most recent asking price was $9.5 million. One Sotheby’s International Realty’s Chelsea Werner had the listing, and Ximetta Mires with Global Luxury Realty represented the buyer.

By the Numbers: Number of underwater homes in the US reached 2M

The number of underwater homes in the U.S. is rapidly growing.

For the first time since 2021, the number of homes where loan balances sit at least 25 percent higher than a property’s estimated market value passed the 2 million mark. The figure represents a 15 percent year-over-year increase, according to a new report from real estate analytics firm Attom.

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SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA)—Around 22,000 juvenile snook will be released in Southwest Florida to advance Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium’s fisheries enhancement efforts in 2026.

According to Mote Marine Laboratory, for nearly three decades, Mote scientists have worked to develop, refine, and evaluate responsible marine stock enhancement strategies for snook and other native species.

“These releases reflect the continued growth and refinement of Mote’s fisheries enhancement capabilities,” said Dr. Ryan Schloesser, Manager of Mote’s Fisheries Ecology & Enhancement Program. “Our focus remains on producing healthy fish, releasing them strategically, and collecting the scientific data needed to better understand how stock enhancement can support resilient wild populations.”

The releases in 2026 represent another step forward in Mote’s science-based efforts to support Florida’s recreational fisheries.

Mote Marine Laboratory strategically selects release locations based on environmental conditions and habitat characteristics that provide favorable conditions and structure essential for juvenile snook survival and growth.

According to Mote, the stock enhancement program is guided by research objectives that examine post-release survival, movement patterns, habitat use, and the overall contribution of stocked fish to wild populations.

Before the fish are released, they go through comprehensive health assessments to ensure they are well-suited for release.

According to Mote, in addition to physical tags, Mote scientists are working to utilize advanced genetic tagging techniques using known genetic profiles of parental broodstock.

Researchers can identify individual fish and trace their lineages from small tissue samples, such as fin clips, collected after release through genotyping.

“We have the genetic profiles of the parents and are developing the tools needed to match offspring recovered in the wild back to their source,” said Dr. Schloesser. “This approach will allow us to evaluate stocking success while minimizing handling and stress associated with traditional tagging methods.”

According to Mote, snook remains one of Florida’s most sought-after recreational sportfish, and they contribute significantly to Florida’s coastal economy.

Get ready for the hottest week of the season in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Scattered showers and storms will kick off the week, but the real story is the soaring heat—expect highs in the lower 90s and “feels like” temperatures peaking around 105°F, especially midweek. Overnight lows will stay warm, barely dipping below 80°F. Find out when to expect the next round of storms, how to stay safe in the heat, and what’s brewing in the tropics.