Why Miami is becoming the US’s hottest city to move to

Small, sophisticated and tax-free, the transformed Florida hub is a magnet to the stars

David Beckham has one. So does Lionel Messi. And Ivanka Trump. And Jeff “Amazon” Bezos. A growing number of businesspeople is now following suit, buying new homes in Miami, the so-called Magic City.

“Miami is sexy in a way that New York is not,” Paul Whalen, a partner at Robert AM Stern Architects, says. “It’s a city with glamour and elegance but also a resort with an element of fun that gives it that sexy side. And it’s one of the hottest real estate markets anywhere today.”

He has been working on the St Regis Residences Miami, which is one of several off-plan high-rise towers in the works. Home to 152 apartments and penthouses, this wonderfully curvy 50-storey tower hovering over Biscayne Bay will have a massive 60,000 sq ft of “amenities”, everything from a private marina, gyms and pools to a personal butler and Michelin-quality restaurants. The two to four-bedroom homes start from $4 million.

“Miami has seen an entire reset in pricing and attitudes,” says Daniel de la Vega, the selling agents for St Regis Residences. “In 2019 the highest price per square foot in Miami was around $1,500, but this year a house on Sunset Islands, Miami Beach sold for $6,000. Miami has a new-found sophistication. It’s always been an international city, but where once global arrivals were 80 per cent from Latin America and 20 per cent from elsewhere, now that has reversed. Wealthy people are moving here to live, so developers are building bigger homes with the quality Londoners and New Yorkers demand.”

Miami’s glittering art scene has been a major driver of the change, supercharged by Art Basel, the annual December show known as the “Super Bowl of the art world”. Since the first show in 2002, Art Basel Miami Beach has grown into North America’s best-known contemporary art fair, last year attracting gallerists and visitors from 88 countries.

Jorge Pérez, the founder of Related Group, south Florida’s largest property developer, is an art collector and philanthropist who played a significant role in the city’s renaissance, donating money and artworks to its contemporary museum, Pérez Art Museum Miami. Speaking at last month’s groundbreaking for Casa Bella Residences by B&B Italia, a 319-unit building in the arts and cultural area, Pérez’s son, Nick, who is president of condominium development for Related, attributed the change seen in the area not only to this cultural boost but to the pandemic and the influx of businesses.

“Miami was a fun-in-the-sun community,” he said. “People came here, partied and left. It didn’t have deep culture and you can’t have a great city without great culture. My father changed that, encouraging the vibrant art scene you see today. Then the pandemic changed how people live and work. Now we have blue-chip law companies, tech and financial firms like JP Morgan. Hedge fund Citadel moved 300 staff from Chicago and international hospitality brands followed in their wake. It’s exciting.”

South Florida’s largest city had been flying high for some time but arguably benefited from Covid more than anywhere worldwide. The US Census Bureau’s state-to-state migration estimates for 2022 showed Florida having the highest net and gross migration levels since 2005, with arrivals coming predominantly from the high-tax states of New York, New Jersey and California. Meanwhile the National Association of Realtors says Florida accounted for 23 per cent of all foreign purchases last year.

Bezos claimed that his move from the northwest was driven by a desire to be closer to his parents and his space exploration company, Blue Origin, in Cape Canaveral. But leaving Seattle, with its proposed 1 per cent wealth tax and its high rainfall, to move to a city with no tax on income or capital gains and 12 months of wall-to-wall sunshine has undeniable additional appeal. Ask most wealthy people why Miami is so hot and the answer is clear: lifestyle and low taxes.

The city is also a sports capital, hosting Formula One racing, international tennis tournaments and now “soccer”; David Beckham is the co-owner of the football club Inter Miami, which has a stadium beside the airport under construction and Lionel Messi as its star signing.

Big-name brands see opportunity too. South Florida has more branded residences than any other US region, with car designers, hotels and fashion houses in the mix. New schemes include Waldorf Astoria Residences at Pompano Beach, one hour from Miami, the first stand-alone residences by the hotel brand, and Rosewood Residences at Hillsboro Beach, a 12-acre resort with homes directly on the water. Andare Residences by Pininfarina in Fort Lauderdale, 45 minutes from Miami, sold 25 per cent of its 163 units, priced from $2 million, within the first week of sales this autumn. The brand is an Italian car designer linked to Ferrari and Maserati.

On the beach in Sunny Isles, Bentley Residences is a 63-floor tower embellished throughout with Bentley diamond motifs and offering sweeping views of the Atlantic, as well as three floors of amenities, including a pet spa. Most eye-catching is the trademarked Dezervator car lift that whisks you and your vehicle up to a private garage in the sky. The developer, Gil Dezer, has form in this arena, setting a new price point for Sunny Isles in 2018 with the Porsche Design Tower, home to Messi.

Overall, it’s Miami’s diverse scope that makes it shine. Chris Place, from Kent, the founder of getringo.com, first visited Miami in November 2020 and immediately fell for its “nature, international community and vibe”. So much so that last year he bought a house in Buena Vista next to the Design District.

“You can navigate Miami in so many ways,” Place, 35, says. “I find it a very nourishing environment. There’s amazing nature everywhere and empty beaches just off the beaten track. The city is small compared with London and outside of high season you can cross it in 20 minutes. Alongside the art, the wellness scene has exploded since I arrived. There really is something for everyone.”

A Magic City indeed.

Original Post: The Times

_{Live Your Luxury Kristine Farra}