More out-of-town financial execs spend millions on Miami Beach houses

Two more financial executives bought houses in Soith Florida last week, proving that the inbound migration of investors is far from over.

Byron Roth, chairperson and CEO of the Californiabased investment banking company Roth Capital Partners, and Jason

Wright, partner at the New York-headquartered Apax

Partners, bought houses in Miami Beach, as reported by the South Florida Business Journal and The Real Deal, respectively.

Roth bought the twostory waterfront home of former TV producer Douglas Cramer and artist Hubert Bush III on La Gorce Island for $23 million. Cramer produced “The Brady Bunch” and “Star Trek.” The house has four bedrooms, five bathrooms and two half bathrooms. Prior to Cramer, the house was owned by the late famed attorney Dan Paul.

Wright bought a twostory, waterfront house at 1420 W. 23rd St. in Sunset Islands for $18.5 million. Developer Todd Michael Glaser and investor Rony Seikaly (the former Miami Heat player) completed the house last year and sold it to Wright. The house has seven bedrooms, six bathrooms and one half bathroom.

Wright will be living in the home with his wife and two children, said Nelson Gonzalez, Miami Beach luxury specialist and Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty. Gonzalez represented the sellers.

“Miami Beach is the epicenter of high-end real estate and where people want to live. We have the beach. We have boats. We have shopping close by. The airport is 12 minutes,” Gonzalez said. “The housing market in Miami Beach is on fire.”

Gonzalez said about

80% of his buyers — many flocking from the Northeast, Chicago and San Francisco — are tax refugees.

After a real estate slowdown early in the pandemic, the luxury market rebounded during late 2020. Employers and executives, primarily from the Northeast, have been trading high-density cities with high taxes in favor of Florida’s weather and tax advantages.

The city of Miami Beach is hoping to appeal to its new residents with a new business district near Lincoln Road. Roth’s firm already has a location on Lincoln Road.

The sales flurry is energizing developers, Gonzalez said. “A lot of developers are starting to get back into the game.”