What goes into the yearly cost of a West Palm Beach condo?

Five lines, in this order: the association fee, which follows how many homes share the building and how much the building runs on staff; the master insurance policy inside it, which on the Intracoastal is a large line; the structural reserves Florida now requires the budget to carry; the property tax, which resets at purchase; and whatever the building sells by the item outside the fee. None of the five West Palm Beach buildings on our file publishes its fee, so the figure comes from the developer's estimated budget delivered with the contract. What the published material does say is the shape. Olara runs 275 homes on a doorman, a resident manager, a marina crew, a medical concierge and an 80,000 square foot deck. Alba runs 55 homes on a dock and private elevators. South Flagler House, Banyan Tree Residences and Caretta sit between them, each with a different reason for its line.

Five axes, from the developers' published material only, read for what each one does to the yearly bill.

Olara. Price point: no published entry price. Delivery: phased, late 2026 through 2028. Unit mix: 275 residences of two to four bedrooms plus den across 26 storeys, twelve guest suites. Position: 1919 North Flagler Drive, on the Intracoastal. Operator or brand: Savanna; a 24 hour doorman, valet and security, a resident manager and concierge, a private marina with a captained fishing boat and a cruising yacht, a 24/7 medical concierge by Sollis Health, dining by Jose Andres Group, over 80,000 square feet of amenity. The largest staff and amenity list of the five, shared by the largest headcount.

Alba Palm Beach. Price point: no published entry price. Delivery: completed June 2026. Unit mix: 55 residences and townhomes, 1,778 to more than 4,500 square feet, private elevators. Position: 4714 North Flagler Drive, on the Intracoastal, a private dock. Operator or brand: BGI Companies with Blue Road; no brand. The smallest headcount, two pools, a spa, a screening room and a dock to maintain among 55 owners.

South Flagler House. Price point: no published entry price. Delivery: March 2027. Unit mix: two 28 storey towers on 3.4 acres, approximately 80 percent sold. Position: 1355 South Flagler Drive, on the lagoon. Operator or brand: Related Ross; Robert A.M. Stern Architects; a full spa with vitality pools and ice plunges, a 25 metre lap pool, indoor pickleball, a golf simulator, two private dining rooms, private offices. A long amenity list across two towers and 3.4 acres of grounds.

Banyan Tree Residences. Price point: no published entry price. Delivery: no date published. Unit mix: 88 residences plus a penthouse collection. Position: 400 Hibiscus Street, downtown, not on the water. Operator or brand: Banyan Tree, with a dedicated 24 hour host and service team and a full floor of spa including cryotherapy and a hammam. A brand's service team and a spa floor carried by 88 homes.

Caretta. Price point: no published entry price. Delivery: not published. Unit mix: 95 residences in Juno Beach. Position: US Highway 1 and Donald Ross, Juno Beach; no waterfront site on the sheet. Operator or brand: JDL; a 24/7 concierge and maintenance team, housekeeping, in-home dining, dog walking, car detailing and lock-and-leave services, published as a service program. The longest per-item service menu of the five, which is the line that lives outside the fee.

The same structure is read for Brickell on what goes into the yearly cost of an Edgewater condo and city-wide on what it costs to own a condo in Miami each year.

Two things the sheets publish: the headcount and the list. The fee is the building's operating budget divided among the homes by their share in the declaration, so a 24 hour doorman costs the same whether 55 or 275 owners split him, and the split is the difference. Olara's list is the longest, with a marina, a boat and a yacht, a medical concierge, a 13,000 square foot fitness centre by The Wright Fit and a recovery spa managed by Arch Amenities; it is also shared by 275 homes. Alba's list is short and shared by 55. South Flagler House's spa, pools, simulators and courts are shared across two towers. The buyer reads the developer's estimated budget for the staffing lines, the management fee and the contracts already signed, and asks which lines are guesses in a building that has not opened. Read how to read the developer's estimated budget for a new Miami condo, what a Miami HOA fee covers and what makes it rise and the association budget line by line at Olara.

A second bill. Banyan Tree publishes a 24 hour host and service team trained in Banyan Tree hospitality and Sanctuary Club privileges across more than 100 properties; the licence that puts the name on the door is paid for through the budget, and the owner reads the licence agreement for the fee and its term. Caretta publishes housekeeping, in-home dining, dog walking, car detailing, dry cleaning and a handyman as a service program, which is the clearest example on our file of what sits outside the fee: a menu, billed by use. Olara's Sollis Health medical concierge and its captained boats are read the same way, included or by the item, and the sheet does not say which. Gratuities are on no sheet anywhere. Read who pays to refurbish the shared spaces of a branded Miami condo, what the branded residence premium buys and what the amenities are at Caretta.

The master policy and the reserves. Olara, Alba and South Flagler House sit on the Intracoastal, and the association's windstorm and flood cover on a waterfront site is the budget line that moves most from year to year; it carries a named storm deductible as a percentage of the insured value, which reaches owners as an assessment when a storm triggers it. Banyan Tree and Caretta publish no waterfront site, which changes the flood question but not the windstorm one. Florida now requires structural integrity reserves to be funded rather than waived on buildings above three storeys, and a new building's first budget carries them from the start. The property tax is the fifth line: the assessed value resets at purchase, so the developer's estimate is not the first bill, and the homestead cap applies only to a primary residence from the first year it is claimed. Read Miami condo insurance, what a named storm deductible is and who pays it, milestone inspections and reserves and why property tax resets when you buy a Miami condo.

Olara suits the buyer who wants the most service on the water and accepts the largest budget shared by the largest headcount. You give up a boutique fee structure. Read the Olara buyer's guide.

Alba suits the buyer who wants the shortest list and the fewest neighbours, with a dock. You give up a spa floor and a restaurant, and 55 owners carry every line. Read the Alba buyer's guide.

South Flagler House suits the buyer who wants the full amenity suite spread across two towers. You give up a fee that a small building would carry. Read the South Flagler House buyer's guide.

Banyan Tree suits the buyer who wants a brand's service culture and a spa floor in a building whose sheet names no hotel. You give up the water and add a licence line. Read the Banyan Tree buyer's guide.

Caretta suits the buyer leaving a house who wants to pay for service by the item. You give up the water and a published date. Read the Caretta buyer's guide and which West Palm Beach condo has the best service.

The desk reads the estimated budget, the insurance line and the service menu with the buyer in the rescission window, and says which lines it expects to move.