As billionaires snap up Miami’s waterfront, priced-out millionaires flock to Fort Lauderdale

You’ve heard of Miami’s “Billionaire Bunker” and Star Island, playgrounds for the ultra-rich like Jeff Bezos and Ken Griffin.

But what about Fort Lauderdale?

Once notorious for its rowdy spring break scene, “Fort Liquordale” is now a haven for millionaires being priced out of Miami and Palm Beach — by billionaires.

Fort Lauderdale is seeing a real estate boom, with home prices skyrocketing to record highs. Case in point: a mansion at 733 Middle River , complete with an AstroTurf-covered pool deck, is on the market for $47.9 million. It’s repped by Rick Teed and Daniel Tzinker of The Agency Miami.

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That’s a 60% increase from its purchase price just 16 months ago. Another local stunner is listed at $50 million, while a beachfront home that sold for a record $40 million last year is now up for grabs at $47.5 million.

Teed is astonished by the market’s transformation.

“Believe me, I thought Fort Lauderdale wouldn’t bring in these kinds of prices,” he told Bloomberg , which reported on this Fort Lauderdale migration trend. “I was just as surprised, but the market is changing.”

Nestled between Miami’s glitz and Palm Beach’s glamour, Fort Lauderdale is becoming a refuge for millionaires seeking more affordable luxury. It’s part of a broader trend affecting real estate markets in Texas, Tennessee and especially South Florida.

The influx of wealthy buyers, including the likes of Griffin and Bezos, has driven up home prices across Florida. As a result, many affluent purchasers are turning to suburban areas like Palm Beach Gardens and Boca Raton, and to often-overlooked Fort Lauderdale.

Even the Florida Panhandle is seeing a surge. Earlier this month, CoStar Group founder Andy Florance sold a beachfront home there for $28.5 million, breaking records.

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Before the pandemic, Fort Lauderdale’s priciest home sold for $17 million. Today, 18 homes in the area are listed for more than that, according to Zillow. The average home price has soared 59% since 2019, reaching $530,000.

“When somebody comes down and they start to look in Palm Beach, they realize they’re priced out of the market,” Teed said. “In Miami, they’ll see the prices are crazy too. So they’re gonna decide to save $10 million and be in Fort Lauderdale.”

Among the high-profile buyers is soccer superstar Lionel Messi, who snagged an $11 million home to be close to the Inter Miami CF arena and training facilities.

Teed represents Anthony DeGradi, owner of Surgicore surgery centers in New York. DeGradi bought his Fort Lauderdale house last year for $29.5 million. He invested an additional $100,000 in landscaping, and now the property is listed at a price more than 60% higher due to the soaring demand.

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The property at 733 Middle River boasts lavish extras, such as a black and gold motorcycle parked under a staircase (included with the house), a third-floor putting green and a helipad. It even has a superyacht dock, fitting for a city renowned for its extensive inland waterways.

Fort Lauderdale is embracing its transformation. A Michelin-starred chef recently opened a restaurant in the Four Seasons hotel, and a waterfront luxury hotel is marketing a newly renovated penthouse for $15.5 million, which would set a city record for condo sales.

Yet, some of its wild spring break spirit lingers. The city’s main drag still attracts throngs of college kids, where bikini-clad servers hand out tequila shots in test tubes.

Fredrik Eklund, famous for finding homes for the super-rich in New York and LA, recently moved to South Florida.

“People are priced out of Miami and Palm Beach,” Eklund told the outlet. “It’s popular for northeasterners who want to put a foot in South Florida but might not want something super big or expensive. The market is maturing in a way that’s exciting to me.”

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