A view of Fisher Island from South Pointe Park in Miami Beach is shown in this 2022 file photo. \u00a9MATIAS J. OCNER <\/p>\n
Just off the MacArthur Causeway, cars queue on an easily missed outlet between PortMiami and South Beach.<\/p>\n
A Ferrari pulls in behind a Bentley, which idles behind a humble BMW. A uniformed attendant walks the line, checking IDs. Smiling, he waves the drivers ahead.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no bridge to where they\u2019re going. Instead, the cars pull onto what looks like a miniaturized aircraft carrier and embark across the port\u2019s Main Channel, a minutes-long voyage that will disgorge them onto the United States\u2019 most expensive, and exclusive, ZIP code: 33109, Fisher Island.<\/p>\n
The median sale price for a home on the barrier island is $9.5 million, according to a recent report from real estate data provider PropertyShark<\/a>, making it far and away the costliest ZIP code in the country.<\/p>\n Atherton, California, just south of San Francisco, came in second at $8.3 million, followed by Sagaponack, New York, at $5.9 million, PropertyShark reported. This is the first time a Florida ZIP code has topped the country\u2019s most expensive list, according to the company.<\/p>\n The ultra-rich own more second homes in this Florida city than any other on earth<\/a><\/p>\n Jill Eber\u2019s not surprised. One of Miami\u2019s top movers of ultra-luxury real estate, and a Fisher Island resident herself, Eber says the island\u2019s beauty \u2014 its verdant streets include a bird sanctuary \u2014 its isolation and its proximity to downtown Miami make it a prime location.<\/p>\n Its residents are more than willing to pay the $500,000 upfront membership fee plus nearly $40,000 a year to use the island\u2019s amenities, which Eber notes include both pickleball and tennis courts, two deepwater marinas, a nine-hole golf course, a spa and a private primary school.<\/p>\n \u201cYou pretty much have your own oasis in the city of Miami,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Who\u2019s buying new condos in Miami? How Latin American politics drives demand.<\/a><\/p>\n Security might be one of the island\u2019s biggest selling points, especially to such wealthy buyers, said Ana Bozovic, a broker and founder of Analytics Miami. It\u2019s practically a fortress, Bozovic mused \u2014 a functionally moated community that\u2019s only accessible by boat, and where passage is invitation only.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very unique spot,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have this very hard-to-replicate level of security and privacy, but you\u2019re not in some far-flung destination.\u201d<\/p>\n Whatever\u2019s drawing them, the wealthy are certainly more willing than ever to pay top dollar to live on Fisher Island. The median sale price of a home there jumped 65% from last year\u2019s $5.75 million, according to PropertyShark.<\/p>\n This year, per the company\u2019s report, Fisher Island\u2019s cheapest home sold for $1.4 million, while its most expensive fetched nearly $24 million.<\/p>\n The island\u2019s price surge follows a post-COVID pattern of demand for uber luxury within close proximity to Miami\u2019s urban core, Bozovic said. Across the bay in Gables Estates, a similarly exclusive and urban-proximate community, Bloomberg found<\/a> the typical house went for north of $21 million, making it the U.S.\u2019s priciest neighborhood last year.<\/p>\n Drawn in part by Florida\u2019s lax lockdown restrictions during the pandemic, many wealthy out-of-state transplants have stayed for the Sunshine State\u2019s tax advantages and weather \u2014 and because more people in their social circles had moved here.<\/p>\n So many, in fact, that Miami\u2019s population of millionaires nearly doubled<\/a> in the decade to 2024. But their arrival has coincided with a spike in housing prices, which has squeezed many locals out of the market.<\/p>\n