Miami Beach homes are something of a paradox.  The higher end luxury residences are considered the types of properties that are having the most trouble finding buyers yet we regularly hear about new homes being sold to affluent buyers, albeit at a discounted price more often than not.  Take these examples of some properties that have recently been sold for millions.

Over in La Gorce, one of the area's classic Miami Beach homes built in 1939 was sold for a cool $9.5 million to a buyer who paid $978 per square foot, the original asking price being $13.5 million.  The two story residence features a distinctly Mediterranean design and contains seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms and features such as hardwood floors, a four car garage and a boat dock.  The entire home encompasses just over 9,700 square feet.

Also in La Gorce Island, a couple purchased what could be considered one of the more modern Miami Beach homes, this one built in 2003.  Compared to the aforementioned property, this one is much more modest with four bedrooms and five bedrooms.  The couple ended up paying about $2.6 million for the property, that's roughly $384 per square foot.  The original asking price was nearly $3 million so the discount isn't quite as dramatic but it is still impressive.