According to the latest report by international real estate company Christie's, the continued property market turnaround currently taking place in Miami and the bordering areas is partly the result of new luxury developments attracting high-caliber investors to the city center
Although overseas investors are certainly contributing to the real estate market growth in Miami and, in fact, across the state of Florida, Christie's has estimated that 55% of the luxury real estate sales closed between October 2011 and September 2012 were made by Miami residents, many of which were city center builds.
The Related Group is responsible for the development of many of the new luxury apartment projects that are beginning to shape the Miami skyline. President of the company, Jorge Perez, said: "I've never been a supporter of people moving farther and farther from the city. I think they should get back to the downtown area so that they can do everything by walking, like in Chicago, New York and London."
He went further to add: "We're getting there: a good bit of density has been created in the last ten years. Before, on the street, you saw two or three taxis, and now you see a lot and the urban transport service is developing and improving."
It is estimated that Miami was home to more than 2,000 properties with price tags exceeding $1 million by the close of 2012. To put this figure into perspective, it is half the number of properties to hit the $1 million mark in New York; however, Miami has less than one-quarter of the population of New York.
Perez explained that wealthy buyers are being lured by luxurious penthouses offering privacy and good views, which are conveniently located in the center of one of Florida's most popular cities.
