The real estate market in Miami has been quite remarkable over the past several years. Median prices for homes in Miami have risen for 37 consecutive quarters, a streak that spans more than nine years. The market especially picked up over the past year and a half as people began migrating south for warmer weather year round, less taxes and an overall better quality of life. Since the start of the pandemic, real estate prices rose approximately 7.8%, and they are projected to rise another 9.4% over the next 12 months.
“Buying real estate in Miami is like buying stock in Miami. It’s a young city with a great quality of life,” says Reid Heidenry, One Sotheby’s top real estate agent in Miami Beach. Heidenry is from St. Louis and originally ventured to Miami to attend college at the University of Miami. “I fell in love with the city and never left. Miami is paradise. The weather is amazing, there is a great opportunity to learn and you can do whatever you want here. I wanted to live in a place that felt like I was on vacation.”
In 2006, Heidenry began working in real estate at the ripe age of 22. He worked hard and learned as much as possible, and always saw the value in creating and maintaining relationships with people. While others may jump from career to career, he stayed on the real estate path and his hard work is now paying off. 16 years later, his consistency and discipline are what he contributes his success to.
While the pandemic affected the real estate industry in Miami over the past year, it trended in quite the opposite direction of many other industries. The market has been booming since April of 2020. People saw Miami as a party town before, whereas now people take the city seriously as somewhere to work and play. “People may have been thinking about heading to Miami before, but COVID really forced people to move down and discover that the quality of life in Miami is amazing. People not only were able to ‘try before you buy,’ they were also able to do a lot of business as well,” says Heidenry.
Heidenry is the self-proclaimed ‘biggest fan of Miami you will ever meet.’ From running track at the University of Miami to now being one of the city’s top real estate agents, he says it has been a love affair ever since he first moved south. The Standard is one of his favorite spots in Miami. “It is a hidden gym. It has a beautiful pool right on the bay with amazing sunsets and a good fashion crowd. It’s exactly what Miami should be: fun, healthy and great sunsets,” says Heidenry. He also enjoys going out at the Socialista Lounge located downstairs from Cipriani in Brickell, or simply spending the day out on a boat with friends and enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. “We are the best place set up for boats,” he says. “You can go to lunch in the Keys or travel around places like Star Island or Palm Island. I just enjoy Miami for what it is.”
Heidenry says that he works extremely hard from September to June and takes the summer months of July and August off for vacation. He claims Miami is one of the best cities in the world from September to June, but July and August are far too hot and it rains quite a bit, so that is when most people are traveling. This year, as traveling opens back up, he has a few places he hopes to visit. “I really enjoy outdoor activities and nature-focused trips, so I might do this big hike in Switzerland this summer, or maybe Italy. A lot of my friends will be there,” he said. “I just want to get back to Europe and get in nature.”
For Heidenry’s day-to-day, he says he has to wear 100 different hats, so each day is different. Some days he has lots of paperwork and computer tasks, while other days he will be out running around doing showings or having meetings with clients. “A lot of it comes down to networking or having friends and clients in town,” he says. “On my perfect day, I would get up early and get ahead on some emails and paperwork before heading to the gym. Then the afternoon would be spent out and about, doing showings.”
He says that the great thing about real estate is that every day is different.
Heidenry says that he has been pretty open-minded throughout the entire process, but some advice he would give to his younger self would be to take time for reflection and enjoy the present moment. “The goals I had a couple of years ago, I’ve already accomplished a lot of those. Everything I have been through has landed me where I am now,” he says. “Always try to get better and improve your goals.”
To get in touch with Reid regarding real estate, contact him here. Follow his Instagram to get an inside look at his life and all the best things about Miami.
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