Sergey Brin is the second tech billionaire to buy in Miami this week

The Miami real estate market can’t stop making headlines.

A rush of tech billionaires and business titans have raised the bar for South Florida prices in only a handful of years. The most recent convert of the Sunshine State is Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who just shelled out $51 million for the Allison Island home of LVMH CEO Michael Burke, the Real Deal first reported.

The deal marks yet another high-profile, waterfront lot purchase within Miami’s ultra-exclusive communities, like Allison Island, Star Island and Indian Creek.

Sergey Brin’s recent purchase follows similarly high-priced deals made by Larry Page and Mark Zuckerberg. Bloomberg via Getty Images

Allison Island numbers among Miami’s ultra-wealthy island enclaves with in-demand waterfront lots. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The current wave of tech execs snapping up trophy properties has been largely linked to a proposed California ballot initiative targeting billionaires.

Brin joins his Google co-founder Larry Page, who spent the new year assembling a 4-plus acre estate in Coconut Grove, now worth more than $188 million.

Mark Zuckerberg officially landed in the ultra-exclusive Indian Creek Island community early this week, shelling out a record-setting $170 million for just 1.84 acres a few doors down from Jeff Bezos.

“There are many buyers that are buying here as a hedge in the scenario that there is a wealth tax implemented in their state,” Mick Duchon of Corcoran told The Post. “So just the threat of it is enough of a reason for them to buy here.”

Google co-founder Larry Page joined Miami’s Coconut Grove set earlier this year. Zak Bennett for New York Post

The impact of these mega-watt transactions on the city’s luxury tier is tangible.

A mystery buyer previously paid $110 million for an empty patch of Indian Creek next door to two of Bezos’ plots. The 1.6-acre Coconut Grove property next to Ken Griffin’s record-setting, two-parcel estate listed this month for $110 million — an unthinkable price in the not-so-distant past. 

The last record-setting price boom took place in 2022, driven by wealth migration, remote work and a flood of liquidity among the ultra-wealthy.

Cash-heavy transactions nearly doubled Miami’s ultra-luxury price threshold, according to Realtor.com data, from $9.9 million in mid-2020 to a peak of $19.6 million in 2022.

Mark Zuckerberg paid $170 million cash for his record-setting acquisition on Indian Creek Island. SplashNews.com

That boom has unwound somewhat as supply returned and buyers cooled off. The cost of entry into the top 1% of Miami’s housing market sat at $15 million as of February, according to Realtor.com data. That threshold has fallen since 2022, but remains nearly 69% above pre-pandemic levels.

Miltiadis Kastanis of Compass told The Post that even homes in the $5 to $10 million range “are getting eaten up” this season. Anything waterfront is selling like hotcakes.

“They’re now transacting at a pace that we haven’t seen for a long time,” Kastanis said, adding that his preferred home inspector for luxury listings currently needs to be booked two weeks in advance.

Miami’s feverish luxury tier stands in stark contrast to the rest of the market, as unaffordable, unwanted inventory piles up. be free – stock.adobe.com

Lourdes Alatriste, a Douglas Elliman broker, told The Post that wealthy buyers interested in off-market properties have been calling consistently since November.

But few housing markets are as bifurcated as South Florida. The region’s luxury entry prices are nearly five times the local median across metros like Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, according to Realtor.com’s December Luxury Report.

While Miami seems to be a “target destination” amid tax and policy shake-ups in London, New York and Los Angeles, Corcoran broker Cyril Bijaoui told The Post that inventory of homes below $1 million is stagnating.

Overall market demand fell last year in Miami, with the condo market racking up more than a year’s worth of inventory. Despite founders from Amazon and Palantir making a home in the city, they’re not necessity bringing thousands of jobs with them.

“It’s all fun and exciting, but there are a lot of people here that can’t afford to be here anymore, and you need those people as well,” Bijaoui said.

Miami’s busy season, which typically spans November to May, may yet see more record-setting deals. AP

Miami luxury is giving even New York City a run for its money.

For the first time ever, Miami surpassed New York City last year in number of million-dollar listings, Realtor.com Senior Economist Anthony Smith told The Post. Miami’s share of luxury buyers — foreign buyers, retirees, second-homeowners — are also more likely to use cash.

With the local housing market now in the midst of its busiest season, sources tell the Post even more deep-pocketed buyers are on their way.