Sales spike at the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Cipriani as luxury buyers weigh moves from Manhattan
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here is a short stretch of prime waterfront real estate in Miami that has come to be known as Billionaire’s Beach. It contains a mix of famous old art deco hotels such as the Delano and Raleigh, both undergoing extensive upmarket refurbishments, and the construction of exclusive new residential tower blocks with high-end apartments running into the tens of millions.
It is here on the sun-filled shores of South Beach, more than a thousand miles from the chills of a Manhattan winter, where realtors and developers are beginning to see the first shoots of what they call the “Mamdani effect”: the predicted exodus of wealthy New Yorkers in the wake of socialist democrat Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor.
Senior real estate execs and others, including Donald Trump, have dented the idea that Mamdani will drive rich New Yorkers to the Sunshine state. But Florida realtors claim they are seeing an “exponential” recent rise in inquiries and sales.
