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Always the trendsetter, Miami is poised to be the hottest housing market in the nation. While home sales in most of the United States cooled in December 2022, Miami defied the odds. Rising home sales in Miami are partially a response to newly enacted tax policies in blue states. When states like California and Massachusetts began passing measures like mansion taxes and millionaire’s taxes, the uber-wealthy flew south, and not just for the winter.
Miami may also be one of only two housing markets to escape this year’s home price correction. According to Goldman Sachs, housing markets across the country are set for a correction after the Federal Reserve’s fight with inflation over the last year that resulted in mortgage rates climbing from three to six percent in 2022. A “correction” occurs when home prices dip slightly following an unsustainable period in the market. The market contracts to better align with current affordability, supply, and demand.
Not only is Miami bucking the trend, but Florida as a whole is also seeing an increase in home sales. Making Florida’s real estate challenge of 2023 the lack of inventory to meet the ever-growing demand. Driving its outlier status is Miami’s unprecedented influx of international buyers. According to the Miami Association of Realtors, home sales to international buyers increased 34% in 2022, spending a cumulative $6.8 billion on South Florida homes. In Miami, foreign buyers made up 17% of all homes sold between August 2021 and July 2022. The median price of these homes was $500,00, and 66% of buyers made an all-cash offer.
“Colombia and Argentina, like other Latin American countries, look to the U.S. for financial stability,” said Ines Hegedus-Garcia, Miami Association of Realtors Board Chairperson, as reported by Axios.
Financial stability and cultural diversity lure international buyers to Miami. More than half of all international home sales in South Florida were made in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan areas, with sales in Miami-Dade making up the largest share in 2022 (67%). The top international buyers in Miami-Dade hailed from Argentina (13%), Columbia (12%), Peru and Mexico (8% respectively), Chile, Canada, and Venezuela (7% each), and Brazil (5%).
2022 also saw the arrival of companies relocating to South Florida to take advantage of tax incentives. The combination of employers, employees, northern transplants, and international buyers has kept home prices steadily climbing in Miami and nearby areas.
“The only positive thing to say is we don’t expect home prices or rents to increase beyond where they have been in the last two years,” Ned Murray, associate director of the Jorge M. Pérez Metropolitan Center at Florida International University told the Miami Herald.
Experts may not agree on whether or not prices will continue to climb, but it seems they all agree Miami will continue to be one of the hottest housing markets in the country throughout 2023 with home sales breaking records week after week.
Are you looking to relocate to Miami?
Buyers looking to relocate to Miami will need a luxury real estate expert on their side if they hope to break into this extremely competitive market. Miami Signature Homes President and luxury real estate advisor, Mauricio J. Barba, is respected throughout his native Miami by clients and colleagues alike; he has logged top honors for elite performance in his field.
Mauricio is connected worldwide but specializes in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, Brickell, Village of Pinecrest, South Miami, Palmetto Bay/Falls area, and the Beaches. This intimate knowledge of the local luxury real estate market is essential to helping buyers find their perfect home, especially those looking to live behind the gilded gates of a gated community.
The Miami Signature Homes team is relatively small compared to its sales volume. That has been important in keeping relationships with clients at a very direct level. Mauricio, Tania, and Vicky, each maintains strong personal connections and professional relationships with all of their clients, many of which have been with the team for decades.
This personal level of service allows each team member to devote individual attention and care to every home sale or search. Assistants are great, but Miami Signature Homes makes sure their principals are the people solely responsible for returning essential calls or emails 24/7, 365 days a year.
For more information, please contact Mauricio J. Barba at 305-439-8311 or mauricio@miamisignaturehomes.com
Mauricio J. Barba is one of the exclusive agents representing the Coral Gables, FL real estate market as a member of the Haute Residence Real Estate Network. View all of his listings here.
