According to the US Census Bureau, warm weather, lower taxes, and a lenient COVID-19 policy made Florida a popular place that increasingly attracts New York residents looking for affordable properties. The in-migration between the two states started back in 2016, but the pandemic has considerably enhanced this trend.
The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports that almost 65,000 New Yorkers changed their NY driving licenses for Florida licenses in 2022, thus breaking the last year’s record, when about 62,000 New York residents moved to Florida.
Jackie Bild, a real estate agent from Douglas Elliman, says that approximately 30% of her clients over the past 12 months have been from New York. Companies are moving their headquarters to South Florida, and employees come along. For instance, Citadel, a leading hedge fund, moved its headquarters from Chicago to Miami. Other financial firms, including Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, also expanded their foothold in Miami, earning the city the nickname of Wall Street South.
While the pleasant weather and tax savings draw the attention of property buyers, the Government’s policy during the pandemic was another reason for migration from New York to Florida. Ron DeSantis, Florida Governor, lifted all restrictions on operation of restaurants and other enterprises in September 2020, more than nine months before restrictions were lifted in states such as New York and California. Jackie Bild is certain that this policy is another reason why people are moving to Florida.
However, Florida homes are gradually becoming less affordable. The affordability index by RealtyHop published in December shows that Miami became the least affordable city in the USA, followed by Los Angeles and New York. Here, a family with a total average income of $44,581 has to spend 86% of their earnings to pay for housing. New Yorkers, in their turn, have to spend 79% of their income on housing.
Nevertheless, Florida remains an affordable location for many New York residents, and the trend of migration from the Empire State to the Sunshine State shows no signs of slowing down.