Manhattanites Bring Their Private School Blood Sport To South Florida

from financial times

There are two things that wealthy New Yorkers who have joined the exodus to south Florida desperately need: a bagel that reminds them of home, and an elite private school for their children. The first may be possible, depending on who you ask. (I’m told Mo’s in Aventura is worth a try.) But schooling is shaping up to be one of the great complications of the south Florida boom. There simply are not enough elite schools to absorb all the children of hedge fund managers and other demanding Manhattanites who have relocated to Miami since the pandemic.

 

Sought-after schools such as Gulliver Prep have set new records for applications each of the past four years. The soaring price of land makes it costly to expand. Even if they could, many fear that it would diminish their quality. The situation has become so acute that, in September, The Real Deal, a property industry publication, warned that luxury home sales were being delayed because children were stuck on private school waiting lists.

“The school issue is huge,” says Danny Hertzberg, a broker at the Jills Zeder Group. “I have a deal right now that can’t move forward until the buyers figure out what school their kids get into.” The deal is in the $20mn range, and the family will walk if the schools fall through. “Schools are $50,000 a year. They’re going to be $100,000 before you blink,” a rival broker frets…. read the rest in FT here