When Avara Miami Beach broke ground, its developers were not just building a high-end rental complex—they were wagering on a new demographic of affluent nomads who did not previously exist in Florida’s luxury ecosystem.
Betting on the fact that New York’s and California’s increasingly restrictive tax environments would trigger an exodus of wealthy, highly mobile professionals, Avara’s developers set their sights on these high-net-worth “refugees” with the budget to buy, but a newfound preference for the flexibility of a lease.
“The idea of Avara was to create a condo-quality product with the amenity and service of condo living, but for somebody who might rent by choice,” Jordan Kornberg, chief investment officer at Mast Capital, the project’s developer, tells Realtor.com.
Mast’s statewide portfolio includes 34 projects, including luxury condominiums, hotels, and commercial buildings with a total capitalization topping $5 billion.
Kornberg says while some of its clients rent units in Avara as secondary residences while continuing to own property elsewhere, others have fully divested from homeownership in favor of leasing. For that contingent, the move is a strategic play to keep their capital liquid while avoiding the unpredictability of special assessments and out-of-control HOA fees that have become synonymous with condo living, particularly in Florida.
Mark Lynn is among Avara’s tenants who left homeownership in the rearview mirror when he moved into one of the building’s two-bedroom penthouses six months ago.
For 10 years, Lynn had split his time between Hollywood Hills, CA, and New York City before moving full-time to the East Coast. But after renting an apartment in the West Village for two years, he decided that Miami was the place to be.
“Both L.A. and New York are having a very hard time getting their act together,” Lynn tells Realtor.com. “People talk about taxes a lot, but people don’t mind paying taxes. They hate not getting value from money. And so that’s really the issue in California and New York.”
For his next home base, Lynn, a business owner originally from Ireland, says he was looking for a global city “on the up” allowing him easy access to Europe. Other items on his must-have list included safety and a hassle-free lifestyle, all of which he said he found in Miami.
However, rather than tying up a large portion of his capital by purchasing a home in Florida right away, Lynn says he opted to test out the market by renting first.
“Buying only makes sense if you’re going to stay in a property for 10-plus years,” he says. “And so the flexibility of not having to make that commitment off the bat is super helpful.”
Ana Bozovic, a Miami-based real estate agent and founder of Analytics Miami and Miami Deal Sheet, says Lynn’s approach is both a common and savvy maneuver.
“A lot of people are arriving from mature urban markets like Manhattan, where they already understand the neighborhoods, social ecosystems, schools, commuting patterns, and lifestyle dynamics intimately,” Bozovic tells Realtor.com. “South Florida is geographically and culturally very different, and many affluent newcomers want time to familiarize themselves with the region before deploying significant capital into a purchase.”
She says that for these newcomers, renting becomes a “strategic soft landing” that allows them to establish residency, benefit from Florida’s tax advantages, experience different submarkets, and better understand where they ultimately want to anchor themselves in the long term.
“Renting allows them to preserve liquidity, avoid rushing into a purchase, and adapt as their lifestyle or business footprint evolves,” adds Bozovic.
Lynn says he sees himself renting for the next five years before exploring other options, noting that if he eventually decides to buy in Miami, it would likely be a single-family home purchased all-cash rather than a condo.
“There’s a lot of people in our building, obviously, that could buy if they wanted to, but it’s a choice,” he stresses, adding that he is satisfied with his living arrangements and amenities at Avara.
The sleekly designed eight-story development with floor-to-ceiling glass, which made its debut last year, features 178 units ranging from $3,200-a-month junior one-bedrooms to penthouses, the most expensive of which cost nearly $14,000 per month.
Premium units in the building come with wraparound terraces overlooking Biscayne Bay and Downtown Miami, soaking tubs, and wine coolers.
Shared amenities include a bayfront pool, cabanas, an outdoor kitchen with grilling stations, a sprawling fitness center, a clubroom, and a game lounge.
“It’s the only product in the market here that’s similar, and so I think that they really fill the need within the market,” says Lynn, referring to Avara as a high-end rental option for individuals like himself wishing to stay mobile and liquid.
The renter also points out that, unlike New York and Los Angeles, Miami has a better handle on homelessness, feels much safer, and offers a lower cost of living.
“This city just feels very well run,” he concludes.
Avara’s introduction to the Miami market comes as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are weighing an annual pied-à-terre tax targeting secondary homes valued at $5 million and up.
In March, Mamandi proposed slashing the state’s estate tax exemption by nearly 90%, from $7.35 million to $750,000, in a bid to fill in budget gaps.
Under a separate proposal, the mayor aims to raise the top combined state and city income tax rate to nearly 17% for New York City’s top earners making $1 million and up to fund a rent freeze, free city bus transportation, and childcare.
Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu says New York’s proposed tax hikes are already fueling an outflow of high earners from the city.
“Moving away from NYC could enable high-earners to save hundreds of thousands annually,” she says. “Meanwhile, renting in Miami is the fastest way to establish Florida residency and begin enjoying the tax benefits—without the commitment of buying in a rush before the move feels permanent.”
For those looking for the exits, however, Xu has a word of warning: “NYC’s real estate is hard to reenter. Once you sell, you may be permanently priced out of the market.”
On the West Coast, Los Angeles is grappling with the repercussions of its controversial “mansion tax,” which imposes a 4% levy on property sales of $5 million to $10 million, and a 5.5% tax on sales exceeding $10 million, including multifamily homes.
Critics, including developers and real estate brokers, have been calling for reforms, arguing the tax has caused a sustained decline in the sale of high-priced properties.
While many who move to Miami initially treat renting as a transitional step toward eventual ownership, Xu says the complexities of property insurance and HOA fees may strengthen the case for staying a renter longer than planned.
According to research from Realtor.com, Miami ranks as the metro with both the most expensive HOA fees and the highest home insurance premium-to-market-value ratio in the country—making the rent-vs.-own math far less straightforward than it first appears, as these added costs can meaningfully offset potential tax savings.
Bozovic, however, points out that the downside of renting versus buying is potentially missing long-term appreciation in some of the country’s most supply-constrained luxury markets.
“The math on scarcity is obvious,” she says. “Prime locations will keep getting bid up as South Florida continues to attract wealth and talent. The main con in renting is watching prime real estate continue to appreciate from the sidelines.”
For Kornberg, with Mast Capital, the decision comes down to a shift in individual priorities.
“I think there’s some people who maybe are test-driving Miami, or are figuring out before they buy exactly where they want to be, but then I think you have people who, frankly, are just not aspiring for homeownership right now.”
