Not surprisingly, Covid-19 has caused an influx of people to move out of New York and other major cities. The Tampa Bay based luxury real estate agency, Tampa Homestyles, believes that this will make Florida, and particularly coastal cities throughout the Tampa Bay area, a hot spot for people wanting to live in more favorable conditions.
Luxury real estate agents are getting swamped with requests from out-of-state buyers. Some from California, but primarily being people from the heart of the early pandemic: New York and New Jersey.
The COVID-19 virus causing this pandemic is primarily spread in densely populated areas where people breathe, cough, talk, and yell in close proximity. This makes New York City seemingly one of the worst places to live, and due to the low population density, the Tampa area is highly desirable.
While not the cheapest nationwide, Florida is an amazing bargain in terms of cost, not having a state income tax, and quality of life. Buying something for $1 million would certainly be “more bang for your buck” than a multi-million dollar apartment in the heart of the Big Apple, especially once you consider the very close proximity of your neighbors and the health risks posed.
What’s in Demand?
Miami had always been the primary escape for city-goers escaping the New York metro area. But with people seeking better deals, it will instead spill over to other parts of Florida.
Tampa Homestyles is seeing first-hand clients coming from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England with capital in-hand, buying luxury single-family homes with all the modern amenities. This may include things like personal gymnasiums, spacious yards, home offices, and – for the right price, even a view of the ocean or a private dock on the bay.
As you might imagine, these are quite tall orders and are priced as such. There are homes well over $1 million in-value that are being snatched up, or at least receiving many viewing requests.
Between the West River redevelopment and water real estate in Port Tampa Bay, there is over 12,000 residential within a tight 1.4-mile radius. With the way things are heading, real estate experts believe it will be one of the more densely populated urban areas in the Southeast over the next few years.
Hitting New Price Records
As an example of how the Tampa area is booming, take a waterfront mansion sold in early Spring 2020 for $6.4 million. This is the highest-priced residential property sale that was built by an outside speculator. The buyer’s identity has been concealed by the agent from Tampa Homestyles due to how high-profile this sale was.
The builder bought the property in 2018 for $1.75 million, taking out a loan for the project. This was a high-priced bet on the future economy of Tampa, and perhaps due to the global pandemic that made its way to the United States earlier this year, that bet paid-off, big time.
The only comparable sale was the historic property of Stoval-Lee that sold for $9.5 million in 2018. Although, this was quite different as it was bought to be converted into a private social club rather than a family home or a “spec home” build.
As the pandemic continues to clamp down on other areas of the United States, who knows what crazy luxury home sales we’ll see in the near future