Florida’s real estate ‘gold rush’ draws the super-rich as rising costs push others out | Florida

To a casual observer, everything looks rosy in South Florida’s real estate garden. There’s a “gold rush” in Miami as ultra-wealthy buyers snap up mega-mansions and lavishly appointed condos as soon as they hit the market; and the Guardian also recently reported on the “Mamdani effect” of elite New Yorkers arriving in the Sunshine State with deep wallets in search of a high-priced escape from the city’s new mayor.

Yet alongside this boom, rumors of a more worrying parallel reality are being heard. There is no doubt that the billionaire class is helping to pump even more dollars into an already thriving Florida economy. But as prices rise and the less wealthy find everything from housing and insurance to gas and groceries more and more expensive, many are considering doing something.

A recent Florida Atlantic University (FAU) poll showed that at least half of the state’s residents were considering leaving due to the cost of living, with 80 percent citing concerns about housing affordability.

Experts say there is no complete panic and little indication that traditionally lower-paid essential workers in education, health care and other service sectors that cater to new arrivals are leaving in droves. Even Eric Levy, senior business economist at FAU and co-author of the poll, said he prefers to see it as confirmation that the American dream is alive and well and that families are making plans to improve their situation.

The evidence pointing to future problems is more than just anecdotal. Significantly above-average housing costs in many areas have helped propel Florida into the top 10 most expensive states to live in; and the popular metro area including Miami and Fort Lauderdale — where new condos can fetch tens of millions of dollars — is also notoriously “housing poor.” Three cities appear in the top six in a Consumer Affordability report, where the percentage of household income spent on housing is 32% or more, compared to the national average of 24%.

Meanwhile, a May 2025 Miami Herald report indicated that while Miami’s millionaire population grew 94% between 2014 and 2024, Miami-Dade County experienced a net migration deficit of more than 130,000 people between 2020 and 2023, largely but not entirely due to soaring housing costs.

Some who have moved speak of high prices and stifling traffic that drives them out.

“Floridians believe in the American dream, but they pay dearly for it,” Monica Escaleras, chair of FAU’s economics department, said in a statement accompanying the poll. “Florida’s promise of sunshine, growth and upward mobility remains alive, but it’s becoming costly to deliver. »

Levy said the “grass is greener” sentiment was not exclusive to just Florida residents, but that the growing wealth disparity between those coming and going was notable.

“It certainly makes you think: If a lot of rich people move in, are they going to displace low- and middle-income people? » he said.

“It’s certainly an interesting question. I don’t think our data shows it, but I guess what’s shocking about our survey is that a lot of people were considering leaving Florida.”

A closer look at other related data leads to the same conclusion, that while ultra-wealthy buyers are flocking in, attracted by year-round good weather and no income tax, others are being shut out.

Pediatricians, for example, are becoming increasingly rare in hospitals and private practices. There are other reasons, including Florida’s unorthodox vaccine policies that deter medical professionals, but few graduating doctors with significant college debt can afford to lose an outsized share of their income to housing and choose to find employment in states where costs are lower.

The steady flow of new residents to Florida also appears to have slowed. A study of migration patterns in 2025 by Atlas Van Lines recorded an almost equal split between the number of arrivals and departures. Between 2023 and 2024, 1,200 people moved in every day, according to a separate Consumer Affairs study. More recent estimates show a sharp slowdown, to around 500.

Retaining residents who work in hospitals, schools, retail stores and other essential industries and services has become a priority for municipalities and private sector partners, and several affordable housing projects are underway in Miami.

The urgency of this vision is shared by Sebastian Lüdke, chief executive and founder of Germany’s ALP.X Group, co-developer of the upcoming Cloud One Residences, 85 loft-style apartments combined with a hotel and retail and dining center in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood.

He chose to build in the popular, revitalized former industrial district, far from the opulence of South Beach’s multimillion-dollar waterfront condos and the equally expensive and vibrant downtown Brickell neighborhood. Although Cloud One is not an affordable housing development, Lüdke said the project is designed to improve Wynwood, including creating jobs for local workers.

He said he also believes developers have a moral obligation to the communities in which they choose to build.

“The price we are setting starts at $400,000 to $500,000, so local people will definitely be able to afford to live and buy in the building,” he said. “But in general, the whole aspect of affordability in the city is important, and it goes beyond affordability and is about livability.

“What is extremely important for Miami to evolve as one of the three big cities next to New York and Los Angeles is education, improving it from kindergarten to schools to universities. With affordable and accessible education, some improvement in people’s skills takes place, which helps them access good jobs that will help them remain affordable in the long term.

“Investments in infrastructure, affordable housing, public transportation, health care are also extremely important…with the growth that Miami has experienced and the challenges that Miami faces with traffic, education and housing availability, this really needs to be a priority for public administration and business people who are contributing to investments in all of these sectors.

“I have the impression that local people and businessmen are well aware of this. »