The most expensive neighborhoods are no longer in New York and San Francisco as many billionaires and celebrities relocate to Florida.
Star Island in Miami is known to attract many A-list figures, such as Jennifer Lopez and Rosie O’Donnell, with a private gated bridge and luxury homes surrounded by Biscayne Bay turquoise waters.
Homes on the man-made island can sell for as high as $70 million but the medium home value is $40 million, according to Bloomberg. Star Island saw an increase in its selling price by 23.5 million since 2019.
Port Royals in Naples, Florida, is the second most expensive neighborhood in the US with average home prices ranking at $16.9 million, in comparison to $8.2 million in 2019.
The list of pricy neighborhoods further extends to several Beverly Hills neighbourhoods.
Beverly Hills Gateway is home to the third most expensive neighborhood in the US with homes ranging from $12.9 million as of 2022. The average home price in 2019 was $11.4 million, according to the news outlet.
Other pricey homes in Beverly Hills include Trousdale Estates and The Flats where homes sell for around $12 million.
But Florida took the real estate reign with nine out of the top 12 priciest neighborhoods in the US.
The shift in home prices occurred throughout COVID as several people fled to Florida where there were fewer pandemic restrictions and no state income tax, according to the news outlet.
The changes reported in December 2022 kicked San Francisco off the list along with New York as Miami Beach, Florida, has become the new hot spot.
‘Miami Beach used to be this place you come a few days to party, get some sun and get out,’ director of sales at Douglas Elliman, Dina Goldentayer, told the news outlet.
‘Now it’s the place to live. It’s the lifestyle, weather, economic policies, and political policies. Everyone wants to come here.’
Meanwhile, the once-thriving city of San Francisco has struggled to recover from the pandemic as many major businesses in the city have continued to allow their employees to work from home.
Reports show home prices in the city’s once famous neighborhoods, such as Nob Hill and Lower Haight, are down 10 percent as crime and homelessness grow rampant.
Homelessness is at a nearly 20 year high in the city, and local businesses have threatened to stop paying taxes unless the city cleans up the colonies of tents and tarps that have grown along neighborhood streets.
Business buildings in New York have also been partially vacant due to remote work. The number of homes for sale has also climbed since the pandemic, even in the luxurious area of the Upper East Side.
Values of homes in the area have decreased by nearly nine percent as many flee from crime and homelessness, according to the news outlet.
Residents have reported regularly seeing drug use in the vestibules, finding them strewn with trash and sleeping bodies, and harassed or even assaulted by vagrants who have taken over the spaces.
Palm Beach real estate agent Bruce Ring noticed a shift in the market in 2020 when he noticed heaps of people moving to the sunny state to benefit from tax reductions and take advantage of the work-from-home orders.
‘One guy told me the taxes he’s not paying in Massachusetts is essentially paying for his new house in Florida,’ Ring told the news outlet. ‘For them not to do it would cost them more than to do it.’
Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel, is the latest resident and recently purchased five homes on Star Island for $194 million.
Griffin used to live in Chicago before making the move south, along with others looking to avoid hefty taxes.
The billionaire also supported Gov. Ron DeSantis in his recent run.