There's a real estate "gold rush" underway in Miami, according to a New York Times article that was reported "from speedboat and land, navigating suspicious security guards, territorial peacocks and mansion elevators."
As the newspaper observed, amid a purported frenzy of ultra-wealthy buyers on Miami's semi-secluded barrier islands, the broader U.S. real estate market remains "frozen" because of a combination of high interest rates, exorbitant prices, and widespread uncertainty.
In February, news broke that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was house-hunting on an exclusive, secretive island known as Billionaire Bunker.
The human-made locale is formally called Indian Creek Village, and on March 3, The Wall Street Journal confirmed Zuckerberg's record $170 million waterfront mansion acquisition. The property is still under construction.
Zuckerberg's wealth is so significant that Forbes tracks it in real time, and among the top 10 individuals on the outlet's list, no fewer than three own one or more of the roughly 40 homes in Billionaire Bunker.
Forbes placed Zuckerberg's net worth at $221 billion.
In 2022, the median American net worth was $192,700, and Zuckerberg's $170 million home purchase was equivalent to the average person spending $75.
As Americans struggled with household expenses tripling and quadrupling, wealth and inequality expert Steven Durlauf told the Times that home sales and similar milestones were hampered by "enormous uncertainty in the economy right now."
However, Durlauf added, "a small number of people with incomprehensible wealth have a willingness to use it," and they're using it to buy up Miami waterfront property in droves.
Indian Creek Village is already inhabited by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Google's Larry Page. Zuckerberg is reportedly planning to move in in April.
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The Times spoke with the president of the Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, Patrick J. Coyle. He acknowledged a flood of wealthy parents seeking top schools in the area and expected it to be a short-term trend.
"We've seen a record number of applicants. I don't know when this is going to stop because I thought it would level off at some point, and it hasn't yet," Coyle said.
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