By Anthony Smith
August 27, 2025
Miami is well-known for its glittering nightlife, palm-lined boulevards, and global reputation as a playground for the wealthy—so when it comes to real estate, one thing stands out above all else: Cash is king.
More than half of the homes priced above $1 million in the Miami metro are purchased in all-cash transactions, new data from Realtor.com® shows. And, as prices climb, so does the dominance of cash.
In Miami, 36.4% of homes priced between $750,000 and $1 million are bought with cash. That share leaps to 53.5% in the $1 million–$5 million range, 54.1% in the $5 million–$10 million tier, and nearly 59% for ultraluxury homes priced at $10 million or more.
"The South Florida market has a very distinct pattern: The higher up you go in price, the higher the all-cash percentage," Ana Bozovic, a Miami-based real estate agent and founder of Analytics Miami, tells Realtor.com.
And according to Bozovic, the most extreme levels of all-cash buying are seen when looking at high prices per square foot, which isolates new properties at prime locales.
"The percentage of all-cash buyers in this segment is shockingly high, as is the growth in sales volume," she says.
According to data analyzed by Bozovic's firm, in the first half of 2025, a staggering 83% of condominium sales past $2,000 per square foot were all cash, with sales volume up 631% compared to 2019.
Meanwhile, all-cash transactions in the single-family home sales category made up 79% during the same time period, up a shocking 1,200% from the pre-pandemic era.
"It is very important to note that this extreme spike in sales volume for new, prime product is being driven by cash," adds Bozovic. "Bubbles are not built on cash; they are built on debt, and they pop when the underlying assets can no longer sustain the debt. We have quite the opposite setup in the prime segment of the market: Miami is being propelled by cash."
By contrast, just 22.6% of homes in the $500,000–$750,000 range are paid for without financing. For buyers of seven- and eight-figure properties, though, financing is the exception rather than the rule.
High net worth buyers often have ample liquidity, or access to funds, but they choose speed for privacy and convenience.
"In a market where sellers are accustomed to cash, a financed buyer can appear less attractive," points out Bozovic.
Why sellers in Miami choose to delist instead of slashing prices
The prevalence of cash buyers also explains why Miami sellers are less willing to slash prices than their counterparts in New York or Los Angeles. With financing rarely a hurdle, sellers know their pool of buyers can move quickly and aren’t relying on mortgage approvals.
Even as listings expand and days on the market stretch longer than in other luxury hubs, Miami sellers are more likely to pull their properties off the market than cut asking prices.
In July, 59 homes were delisted for every 100 new listings in the metro—more than double the rate in May. Yet price reductions remain rare, bucking national trends.
Bozovic explains that sellers in Miami "show little fear" because they know the fundamentals of the local housing market are strong and capital continues to flow into the metro from across the U.S. and the world.
"High levels of cash create a firm floor," she stresses. "Crashes come when over-leveraged debt implodes, and we have the opposite setup today."
Miami's million-dollar listings
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro had nearly 50,000 active listings in July, with more than 1 in 5 priced at $1 million or more. That’s significantly higher than the national share of 13.8%.
At the ultrahigh end, nearly 4% of Miami listings were priced above $5 million, compared with just 1.3% nationwide. Fisher Island—a private enclave accessible only by boat—topped the charts as the priciest ZIP code in America, with a median list price of $11.9 million, the highest in the nation. Some listings there soared above $50 million.
Other luxury standouts include Pinecrest, where the median list price is $2.68 million, and Coconut Grove, where it is $1.85 million. Both neighborhoods have more than 70% of homes listed at $1 million or higher.
Even as inventory in the million-dollar-plus category rose 18.3% year over year in July, supply in the top neighborhoods remains tight. Fisher Island had fewer than 50 active listings, while Pinecrest counted just over 300 despite a 32% annual increase.
Miami’s million-dollar homes spent a median of 96.5 days on the market in July—longer than any of the top 20 metros with the most high-end listings. For the top 10% of properties, the timelines stretched to 114 days, compared with 86 in New York and 75 in Los Angeles.
Even so, sellers remain confident. Miami ranks among the lowest metros for year-over-year price reductions, reinforcing its image as a market where luxury-home owners are willing to wait out buyers rather than compromise on price.
Global and local demand keeps Miami strong
The market’s resilience rests on Miami’s role as a global gateway. Buyers hail from New York, California, Latin America, Europe, and Canada, drawn by the region’s climate, tax advantages, and waterfront living. Florida’s lack of a state income tax further boosts its appeal to high earners.
In fact, when it comes to international interest in the area, Colombia leads the way, according to a new report by the Miami Association of Realtors.
Bozovic argues that there is a political dimension to Miami's continued popularity among real estate investors.
"When jurisdictions go left, domestic and international money flows to Miami," she says. "For those buyers, putting cash into Miami real estate remains one of their most reliable methods of wealth preservation."
With international demand steady, tax benefits locked in, and cash continuing to dominate high-end sales, Miami looks poised to remain one of the nation’s most exclusive housing markets.
For sellers, that means patience is rewarded. And for buyers, one thing is clear: In Miami’s luxury real estate market, cash isn’t just preferred—it’s expected.
Snejana Farberov contributed to this report.
Anthony Smith is an applied economist at Realtor.com® with over a decade of experience analyzing housing, construction, and building product markets. Prior to joining Realtor.com®, he served as Chief Economist at FreightWaves and has advised Fortune 500 companies and private equity firms on housing-driven strategy. He holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Economics from New Mexico State University and is based in Austin, Texas.
https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/miami-cash-sales-luxury-market?cid=soc_shares_article_CP
