Florida’s southern region has emerged as the new capital of the United States. According to a report by Fox News, prominent developers and city leaders in South Florida believe that this trend is permanent and substantial, as billions of dollars have flowed into the region from New York City.
The CEO of the Related Group, Jon Paul Perez, told Fox News, “I think we benefit greatly from the state’s stance and practices, which are more business-friendly and open compared to other markets.”
He was not surprised by a recent report from the Citizens Budget Commission of New York, which found that tens of thousands of high-income residents had left New York City from 2017 to 2022, bringing nearly $14 billion in income to Florida, with over $9.2 billion flowing to Palm Beach County, Broward County, and Miami-Dade County.
“People realize they enjoy living here. It’s a business-friendly environment with low taxes. They can move their companies here without feeling like they’re missing out,” Perez said. “Miami has become somewhat like the southern version of New York, with finance, technology, hospitality, and large cruise industries. Therefore, over the past five years, we’ve become a more diversified economy.”
Nelson Stabile, founder of the real estate investment and development company Integra Investments, stated that companies such as Citadel, Starwood Capital Group, Apple, Kaseya, and Related Ross have established their headquarters in Florida, significantly driving the state’s economic growth.
The report from the Citizens Budget Commission of New York listed reasons for people leaving the city: the pandemic, immigration policies, economic sustainability issues, quality of life concerns, and job opportunities.
“As a company, one of our focuses is to provide more workforce housing and affordable housing for the true working class and middle class, because we don’t want this city to become one that only serves the wealthy,” Perez said.
Developers and city planners are actively collaborating to streamline regulations, accelerate residential and commercial construction projects to meet the needs of permanent immigrants. Additionally, Florida has passed the “Live Local Act,” aimed at encouraging the construction of affordable housing through incentives related to taxes, regulations, land use, and funding provided to developers.
“New York will always be New York. Miami will always be its own version of Wall Street in the South,” Perez said. “They’re heading south to see what’s happening. They’ve all realized the changes taking place here and how significant the southern Florida cities have become.”
(This article references a report from Fox News.)