Why Miami's Real Estate is Booming Again

Florida's housing market is a misery, as I wrote about in a recent post. But as a commenter rightly pointed out, that this isn't the whole story. When you look at housing from a city level, some Florida metros, like South Beach and downtown Miami, have recovered nicely.

As the New York Times reported last week, Miami's housing market is doing much better than other warm, sunny vacation and second-home destinations, like Phoenix or Las Vegas. Even though its real estate prices have plummeted considerably from their peak, they remain nearly 38 percent above their 2000 levels according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, while Phoenix home prices are just 2 percent above their 2000 levels and Las Vegas home prices have dipped to nine percent below their 2000 values.