High prices in the Miami real estate market and low appreciation of the real against the dollar. This panorama of recent times had everything to end the American dream of many people. Sure? Wrong. Brazilians continue to stand out as major customers. They ranked second in the volume of real estate purchases in Florida in 2023, totaling the impressive amount of almost 1.5 billion dollars throughout the year. In other words, despite the conjunction between high real estate values in Miami and the devaluation of the real, the volume of investments remains high.
The data is even more significant considering a context in which market conditions there are scaring away many foreign buyers. In the period between August 2022 and July 2023, Florida's residential market felt this impact. Compared to the previous year, there was an 18% reduction in the number of transactions carried out by buyers from outside the United States, as indicated by data from Faccin Investments.
As Brazilians remain firmly at the top of the list of customers, actions to seduce these buyers multiply. Some developers have been adapting and adjusting their projects for the group. One of the bets is on anew concept called "Entry Level Luxury", something like a "possible luxury". In the real estate market, it translates into the development of a development with all the luxury amenities, but in a smaller size, so that the buyer does not have to pay a fortune to acquire the product and the business remains a good investment.
"PECHINCHA" ON FLÓRIDA
One of the developments that is betting on this concept is JEM Private Residences, from the New York developer Naftali. Still in the pre-construction phase, the condominium is located in what will be the new downtown Miami. It is a ten-block area that is under development and will be named Miami World Center, with restaurants, shops and services, including even a new unit of the iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel. Under construction, it will have more than a hundred floors, promising to be the tallest building in the city, offering a view of the bay of crystal-clear water or the illuminated city skyline.
The residences at the address come in various shapes and sizes, from 60 to 600 square meters, with smaller units starting at $600,000.It's almost a bargain amid the inflated Miami market. To give you an idea, other luxury launches, with average units of 200 square meters, are now offered at prices starting at around 5 million dollars, as is the case of Saint Regis, on the beautiful beach of Sunny Isles. A one-suite apartment goes for approximately 5 million dollars at Cipriani Residences, in the center of the city.
The city adored by Latinos has undergone a significant change in the post-Covid-19 pandemic. This had direct repercussions on its economy, especially on the impact of local real estate and service prices. Florida was one of the few American states not to adhere to a restrictive and extensive lockdown, as has happened elsewhere around the world. Within the idea that the impact on tourism would be fatal for the state's economy, the authorities there make the rules for the period very flexible. Because of this, many Americans, especially from New York and Chicago, ended up migrating to Florida, spending the pandemic period in a region with a much more inviting climate and prices than in their hometowns.
In addition, in 2018, the United States passed a law that imposed a cap on state and local tax deductions, hitting homeowners the hardest in places like New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, where state income and real estate taxes are among the highest. States like Florida, where income taxes are low or nonexistent, offer enormous economic advantage. The housing experience ended up working out and what would be just a season became the official address of several compatriots. Since then, these new residents have changed the atmosphere of Miami quite a bit.
DO YOU SPEAK SPANISH?
In the 1920s, it received the nickname "Magic City" for becoming a major tourist destination. The nickname was also bornin reference to how quickly Miami grew year after year, as if it were "magical". This movement of tourists made the city become a residential destination for Latinos, Cubans and Mexicans. Many didn't even need to speak English to live there, and Spanish became a kind of second official language. Until recently, it was jokingly said that "Miami's location is great, very close to the United States", so much so that the city was full of foreigners.
With the arrival of Americans from other cities in 2020, the story changed. Miami is still dominated by Latinos, but it is increasingly common to recognize New Yorkers and Californians by the streets, restaurants and businesses. More than the presence of the English language, the biggest change was the impact on prices, especially in the real estate market. Miami had square foot values below New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. With the demand for real estate in the season of the Covid-19 pandemic, the values ended uprising, both for sale and for rent.
Miami has become an even more cosmopolitan city than it was and has managed to adapt so as not to lose business. With that, it was able to embrace all potential customers, from California tech billionaires to New York finance geniuses. But Brazilians with good financial reserves remain firm in the dispute for the best properties in the "Magic City".
