South Beach Penthouse Market is Thriving

July 17, 2012

Many foreign buyers are on the market for a third or fourth home and are only interested in purchasing a penthouse with a beautiful ocean view. The problem is that there are only so many penthouses to go around.

In May, a triplex penthouse at South Beach’s Continuum was sold for $25 million. This is a record high purchase price for a penthouse in the Miami area, according to The Real Deal. Another penthouse located in Miami was sold for $20 million.

Several factors are causing this increase in Florida real estate sales. One reason is the Florida lifestyle. The weather and the opportunity to live on the ocean are reason enough to move to Florida. It’s a bit more than that though. There are tax benefits to living in Sunny South Florida as well. Some Europeans are afraid that their taxes are going to go up to 75% and would rather move to the United States to save money. Even though the condo prices are record high for Miami they are still reasonable compared to New York, California and desirable areas in Europe.

South Americans have also shown an interest in the South Florida real estate market. Argentina political and economic uncertainty is bringing more and more people from that area to Miami.

Over this past year a number of Argentinian-led developments have taken place in Miami. Argentinian developer, Eduardo Constantini broke ground in February on a 142-unit condominium. In March, Argentine Manuel Grosskopf paid $50 million for three parcels surfside, and Jose Luis Melo has five projects in the works totaling 800 units in downtown Miami.

It looks like Miami is a hot market once again, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change any time soon.

Full Story: The Real Deal