Miami and Israel: A Strong Real Estate Relationship

By: Ismael Rodriguez

As of November 2017, Israel’s El Al airlines will offer three weekly, nonstop flights to Tel Aviv, marking the first time since 2008 that direct flights between Miami and Israel are available. But the Israeli ties go beyond flights, considering that a large chunk of Miami’s real estate market is in their hands.

An article in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported that about 80,000 Israelis were living in Miami in 2014, which has become a preferred destination because of its affordability and distance over destinations like New York and Los Angeles.

In Miami, the Israeli population tends to stay along the eastern coastal areas, from Miami Beach to Aventura. In particular, Aventura has been dubbed “Little Israel” with its abundance of Israeli shops and restaurants, such as Sarah’s Tent supermarket and the Etzel Itzik restaurant, according to Jeff Morr, chairman of the Master Brokers Forum.

Morr also mentioned that although the majority of Florida’s Israeli population has bought into Miami’s real estate market, they are also active investors throughout the state.

“They also purchase across the entire real estate spectrum, from single family homes to hotels, shopping centers and new developments,” Morr wrote in the Miami Herald.

With increasing relations between the two countries, from direct flights to real estate, the Miami-Israel connection appears to only strengthen. Morr believes that in a few years, Miamians wont be surprised to see a few Falafel Tropicals down U.S. 1.