By Gay Cororaton, MIAMI REALTORS® Chief Economist
Southeast Florida is well-known as a vacation destination, but what does the data say? MIAMI REALTORS® crunched the data to find out the top vacation places in the United States and here’s what we found:
Top Vacation Home Places[1]
- Nationally, there are nearly 5 million vacation homes, making up 3.5%of the housing stock.
- Florida has the largest stock of “vacation homes” (housing units used for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use) of about 845,400 units, making up 8.5% of its housing stock.
- Miami Beach is ranked #3 nationally based on the number of vacation homes that comprise at least 3.5% of the housing stock (national share), with about 14,033 housing units or 22% of its housing stock
- Fort Lauderdale is ranked #6 nationally based on the number of vacation homes with 12,299 housing units that make up 12.% of its housing stock
- Miami (city) is ranked #7 nationally based on the number of vacation homes, with 10,188 vacation homes that make up 4.7% of its housing stock
- In Southeast Florida only, the top vacation places by the share of vacation homes to total housing stock are Hutchinson Island (58.5%) and Bal Harbour (52.1%)
Vacation Home Sales Trends[2]
The second quarter is the peak time for vacation home sales, with sales up 24% in Q2 compared to Q1 in the top vacation markets and 27% in the other markets, based on historical sales from 2019-2023 (except 2020).
In the Southeast Florida counties, sales in the top 25 vacation markets surged during the COVID pandemic, up 51% in 2021 compared to a 26% increase in other areas. Higher mortgage rates as well as the normalization of migration patterns after the pandemic surge have pulled back transactions. In 2023, home sales in the top 25 vacation home markets (by share to housing stock) fell 22% compared to a 16% decline in other places.
However, single-family vacation home sales prices have held up to the decline in sales. The median single-family home price in the 25 vacation home markets rose to $1.02 million in 2023, up 17% from 2022 and up 90% from in 2019. In comparison, the median sales price in other areas rose just 4% in 2022 and 66% since 2019.
Month’s supply has increased but the levels are still below the 2019 levels. In 2023 Q4, the median month’s supply in the top 25 vacation home places rose to 8 months (4 months in 2022 Q4) while month’s supply slightly rose to 3.5 months in the other places (2.9 months in 2022 Q4). As discussed earlier, prices are still rising in many markets. In more affordable markets like Riviera Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Pembroke Park, months’ supply is at four months or less.
Vacation Home Sales Outlook
The long-term outlook for Southeast Florida’s vacation homes market is positive, underpinned by healthy economic and demographic conditions.
t 2020).
More people move to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area from abroad on a net basis than any other metro area. During 2020-2023, net international migration totaled 191,456 people, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2023 population estimates.
Nearly half of Florida’s foreign buyers purchase a property in Southeast Florida and 71% of those foreign buyers purchased a property to use as a vacation home, to rent out, or both, according to MIAMI’s International Transactions in Residential Real Estate report.[3]
Southeast Florida has tended to attract residents from cold-weather states like New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, or Massachusetts. Palm Beach/West Palm Beach, which attracts New Yorkers, is the third fastest growing city for millionaires.[4]
Southeast Florida’s business-friendly environment, lower effective real estate tax rates compared to other states, and Southeast Florida’s geographical proximity and strong economic and cultural ties to Latin America, are factors that have induced people and businesses to relocate or expand in Southeast Florida. The latest corporate moves to the Miami-Dade County area are by the MSC Group (a cargo and cruise company) and by BNP Paribas (a leading European bank).[5] Corporate expansions and relocations can increase the demand for second homes as employees in the finance, information service, and professional/business services industries typically have the highest wages compared to workers in other industries.
However, a major headwind facing the condominium market in the next two years pertains to the potential increase in condominium fees and special assessments arising from the implementation of condominium building safety regulations (Senate Bill 4-D). However, some demand will be released into the single-family market, so vacation home markets with a good mix of single-family and condominium properties will hold up better to the impact of the new condominium law.
Download the 2023 Southeast Florida Vacation Home Sales Report below.
[1] MIAMI REALTORS® analysis of US Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey , 2022, 5-year estimates, Table B25004 and B25001.
[2] MIAMI REALTORS® analysis of MIAMI MLS/Florida REALTORS® home sales data
[3] 2023-MIAMI-International-Report.pdf (miamirealtors.com)
[4] USA Wealth Report 2023 | Henley & Partners (henleyglobal.com)
[5] BNP Paribas To Open New Office in Miami – BNP Paribas USA
