Florida was attracting millionaires wanting to settle in a low-tax territory even before the pandemic. Now the Sunshine State is home to neighbourhoods with the country’s most expensive properties, according to a recent report by Bloomberg.
Historically, New York and California have been considered “enclaves for the rich” in the USA, but the value of real estate in some Florida areas has already left these states far behind. Data from Zillow as of last December shows that the average price of a single-family house on Star Island in Miami reached an incredible $40.2 million. This is 70% more than in 2019 and 2022. Port Royal in Naples, Florida is No. 2 in this housing value rating with $16.9 million.
Many wealthy businesspeople, particularly from the finance sector, followed the lead of the billionaire Ken Griffin who moved the headquarters of his Citadel hedge fund from Chicago to Miami and purchased five properties in Florida for a total of $194 million.
Dina Goldentayer, Executive Director of Sales at Douglas Elliman, explains that Miami was previously considered a city where people would come for a few days to have fun and sunbathe. Now they are moving here for permanent residence for the sake of the local lifestyle, weather, economic situation, and political environment.
The Bloomberg report also says that Florida is home to 38 out of 50 US neighbourhoods where housing value increased the most over the past three years. It means that house prices are doubling even in the parts of the state that were not considered extremely high-end locations in the past, e.g., in Tampa.