According to the latest Redfin investor real estate report in July, home purchases by investors in Miami and Fort Lauderdale jumped a whopping 90% in the second quarter of 2021, compared with the same period the year before.

Investors bought 2,640 homes in Miami in the second quarter of 2021, up by about 91% compared with 2020. They purchased 2,163 homes in Fort Lauderdale in the second quarter, up by 183% from the same period a year ago, and they gobbled up 1,243 homes in West Palm Beach, a 53% increase from the second quarter of 2020, according to Redfin. While investments may have dipped in 2020 due to COVID, the numbers in 2021 were also higher than in 2019 for Miami and Fort Lauderdale (and slightly lower for West Palm Beach).

There are two types of investors — one who’s solely looking to make a buck and the second who intends to use the home part time while also taking a profit through rental or an eventual sale.

Based in New York City, Steven Michaelson decided in December that he and his family could use a break from their Upper East Side condo, Covid restrictions and the cold. Like so many others from the northeast during the pandemic.

The vacation, he said, quickly turned into a search for a second home. By February, the family landed their vacation pad, a 1,900-square-foot unit at The Continuum on South Beach for about $4 million. Michaelson said it will not only serve as a getaway — but also as an eventual profit center as it rises in value.

For the Michaelsons, they already know how they’ll split their time in the years ahead. Summer in East Hampton, fall in Manhattan and winter and spring in Miami.

“Real estate is like an elevator,” Michaelson said. “It’s always going up. If you can own your own place, then it’s great to live in your investment.”

(source: miamiherald.com)