Last updated September 3, 2026
Sunrise Guide for Residents
Short answer: Sunrise is a long east-to-west city of roughly 97,000 people in western Broward County, founded in 1961 as Sunrise Golf Village on 2,650 acres. It reads as an age gradient: 1960s and 1970s housing and low-rise condominiums in the east, 1970s and 1980s single-family around Welleby in the middle, and newer association-governed communities in the west near Sawgrass Mills, the Amerant Bank Arena and the I-75 and Sawgrass Expressway junction. Which end you are in matters more than the city median. We price properties by hand.
East to west, oldest to newest
Sunrise runs a long way inland, and the housing gets newer as you go west. Near State Road 7 you find the original development from the 1960s and 1970s, including a large stock of low-rise condominium and villa communities, some of them operating as housing for persons 55 and older. Central Sunrise, around Welleby and Sunrise Lakes, is mostly single-family from the 1970s and 1980s with mature landscaping. West of Flamingo Road the construction dates from the 1990s onward, in gated, association-governed communities. Comparable sales have to come from the same band of the city and the same era of construction, or they are not comparable at all.
The western end: retail, sport and jobs
The far west of the city carries the assets people recognise. Sawgrass Mills opened its first phase in 1990 and has expanded to nearly 2.3 million square feet, making it one of the largest retail centres in the country. Next to it, the Amerant Bank Arena hosts the Florida Panthers and major events. The Sawgrass International Corporate Park sits nearby as an employment centre, and the junction of I-595, I-75 and the Sawgrass Expressway is right there, which is why the western communities commute better than their distance from the coast suggests.
The Everglades edge, water and insurance
The city's western boundary meets the water conservation areas, and the drainage canal network that runs through Sunrise is engineering rather than scenery. Practically, that means flood zone and elevation are parcel-level questions here, not city-level ones, and they belong in your insurance quote before you agree a price. Wind coverage is priced on the specific roof and year built, which is one reason the older eastern housing and the newer western housing can carry very different monthly costs at similar purchase prices.
Associations and age-restricted communities
Most of the newer western housing and much of the older eastern condominium stock sits under an association. Ask for the budget, the reserve position, the insurance summary, the rules on rentals, pets and vehicles, and any assessment already voted. Where a condominium is involved, ask what milestone inspection or structural integrity reserve study reports the association holds. Several communities here operate as housing for persons 55 and older under the federal Housing for Older Persons Act; if you are considering one, get the occupancy rules in writing, because they govern who may live in the unit and how you resell it.
Getting around and everyday things
Sunrise Boulevard, Oakland Park Boulevard and Commercial Boulevard run east to west; University Drive, Pine Island Road, Nob Hill Road and Flamingo Road run north to south. The practical advantage of the western end is direct access to I-595 for the airport and I-75 for Miami-Dade and the west coast. There is no rail station in the city, so plan on driving. Broward County Public Schools serves the whole city and boundaries move, so confirm the assignment for a specific address with the district rather than relying on a listing.
What owning property in Sunrise involves
Two numbers decide what owning here actually costs, and neither is on the listing. Property tax is set on your own purchase, not the seller's assessed value, so the tax line you see on a listing usually reflects a homestead exemption and an assessment cap that belong to the current owner and do not transfer with the house. Insurance is the other one: wind coverage, and flood coverage where the property calls for it, quoted on the specific roof, year built and elevation rather than a county average. Get both quoted on the actual address before you commit to a price. If the property is in an association, add the dues, ask what has been voted, and read the budget and reserve position rather than the marketing sheet.
If you own here
What your property is worth depends on things a website cannot see: which street you are on, what the last owner did to the place, what your association holds in reserve, and which recent sales are genuinely comparable to yours. We work that out by hand from those sales rather than publishing an automated estimate, usually the same day, with the sales it is based on attached. Ask for an opinion of value on your property.
Nearby and related
- Sunrise market report
- Relocating to Sunrise
- If your Sunrise listing expired
- What is my Sunrise home worth?
This guide describes the town and how property here trades. It carries no market statistics on purpose, so nothing on it goes stale; the live figures sit on the market pages linked above, sourced from BeachesMLS. PBP Real Estate, LLC, 700 NW 7th Dr, Boca Raton, FL 33486, 561-395-8418. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Living in and owning property in Sunrise: questions and answers
Where is Sunrise, Florida?
In western Broward County, west of Fort Lauderdale, stretching from State Road 7 out to the Everglades conservation area. Sunrise Boulevard, Oakland Park Boulevard, Commercial Boulevard and University Drive carry most traffic, and I-595, I-75 and the Sawgrass Expressway meet at its western end.
How old is Sunrise?
The city was founded in 1961 by developer Norman Johnson, who bought 2,650 acres on what was then the remote western edge of Broward County, and it was originally called Sunrise Golf Village. The population is roughly 97,000 to 99,000, having been counted at 97,204 in the 2020 census.
What is Sunrise best known for?
Two things at its western end: Sawgrass Mills, which opened its first phase in 1990 and has grown to nearly 2.3 million square feet, and the adjacent Amerant Bank Arena, home of the Florida Panthers. The Sawgrass International Corporate Park is also a significant local employment centre.
What kinds of homes are in Sunrise?
It follows an age gradient east to west. The eastern side holds the original 1960s and 1970s housing including a large stock of low-rise condominiums and villas, some age-restricted. Central Sunrise around Welleby is largely 1970s and 1980s single-family. The west is newer association-governed communities from the 1990s onward.
I inherited a property in Sunrise. What are my options?
Sell it, hold and rent it within whatever the association rules allow, or transfer it to a family member. Which is open to you depends on how the property was titled and whether it must pass through probate, where a personal representative generally needs court authority before closing. Have a Florida attorney confirm the process for your situation.