A growing number of billionaires flocking to Florida’s richest neighborhoods are driving house prices on the East Coast to record levels. 

The median sale price for single-family homes in Palm Beach hit $14 million in September 2023 – a 117 percent year-on-year increase, according to national real estate brokerage Redfin. 

Palm Beach sits just north of Miami, where prices have risen by 7.7 percent over the past year to reach a median sale price of $599,000 for a family home. 

This is markedly more than other more northerly Florida hotspots like Orlando, where the median price is $425,000 – a more modest increase of 1.9 percent over the past year, which is less than the 3.7 percent inflation rate in the 12 months to September. 

Millionaires and billionaires are flocking to the Florida coast to escape high-tax and Democrat-run states of California and New York. 

Eye-watering prices shelled out by ocean-side homeowners in Palm Beach even dwarf the cost of living in other well-known celebrity magnets, such as San Francisco where the median price of a family home is $1.6 million. 

The median sale price for single-family homes in Palm Beach hit $14 million in September 2023. This dwarfs comparable medians in Manhattan and San Francisco 

A growing number of billionaires flocking to Florida ‘s richest neighborhoods are driving house prices on the East Coast to record levels

Palm Beach sits just north of Miami, and has seen a 117 percent year-on-year increase in home prices

In  Manhattan, the median price sits at $1 million, $345,000 in Houston, $238,500 in Indianapolis, Indiana and $80,000 in Detroit. 

Chris Leavitt, a top Palm Beach broker with Douglas Elliman, described the prices in the elite East Coast city as ‘mind-blowing’. 

‘There is a very limited supply, especially at the ultra-high-net-worth end, where the clientele is all clambering for that amazing lake front or oceanfront property,’ he told NBC. 

The meteoric rise in prices could be partly down to thousands of rich homeowners moving from Manhattan to Miami. 

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Redfin calculated a 5,776 net outflow of Manhattan residents leaving for the Magic City over three months alone from July to September 2023. 

‘You can still find a nice house here for under $10 million,’ Leavitt said. ‘I know that sounds like an alternative universe. Because yes, this is an alternative universe.’

The record for the most expensive home sold in Palm Beach was set in April, when luxury car dealer Michael Cantanucci paid $170 million for a 1.6-acre oceanfront mansion.

Redfin calculated a 5,776 net outflow of Manhattan residents leaving for the Magic City over three months alone from July to September 2023 

Chris Leavitt, a top Palm Beach broker with Douglas Elliman, described the prices in the elite east coast city as ‘mind-blowing’

‘There is a very limited supply, especially at the ultra-high-net-worth end, where the clientele is all clambering for that amazing lake front or oceanfront property,’ a Palm Beach broker said

Tech billionaire Eric Schmidt, who is among the 100 richest people in the world, is the latest to acquire collections of properties in Miami

Tech billionaire Eric Schmidt, who is among the 100 richest people in the world, is the latest to acquire collections of properties in Miami. 

Along with his wife Wendy, the former Google CEO has bought up more than six homes on the Sunset Islands, spending more than $140 million. 

Meanwhile, hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin has recently revealed plans to create the world’s most expensive home on Palm Beach. 

His $1 billion mega-estate over 20 acres on the resort lies just a quarter mile from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago and Billionaire’s Row. 

Among the rich and famous neighbors nearby are Jeff Bezos, who spent $150 million on two adjoining properties in Indian Creek Village, and National Football League legend Tom Brady.