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Miami named the second most affordable beach town in America

by Joe Ward

Miami might not be considered a beach town in the classic sense, and it certainly isn’t known for its affordable property. That hasn’t stopped the city from being considered one of the most affordable beachfront cities in the country.

Redfin, the online real estate brokerage, has ranked Miami as the second-most affordable beach town for real estate. The study looked at coastal cities with populations of at least 1,000 and have at least 3 percent of its vacant units flagged for seasonal use.

Miami’s inclusion on a list of affordable beach towns might be puzzling to some. Home prices, particularly for newly-built condos, are rapidly rising, and the homes available near Miami’s shoreline are anything but affordable.

Miami has the fifth-highest median home price of any of the 15 cities on Redfin’s list, and only 12 percent of a the city’s homes are on the waterfront. But the Magic City warranted inclusion on the list because of its mix of well-known beach culture and major city attractions. It’s big-city infrastructure makes it by far the most walkable city on Redfin’s list.

South Florida beach front markets booming

Seven of the top 15 most affordable beach towns on Redfin’s list are in Florida. In fact, Miami, Clearwater, West Palm Beach and Daytona Beach take up the second-through-fifth spots on the list.

It has been a banner year for Florida’s beachfront markets. In late May, Realtor.com ranked Deerfield Beach as the fourth-best affordable beach town, mostly because it is cheap and has a beach scene that’s the polar opposite of Miami.

Realtor.com also named Key Biscayne the seventh-best expensive beach town in the country, with a median housing cost of $1.7 million that is more representative of the money needed for a beachfront home in the area. (Miami was not included on either of Realtor.com’s lists.)

West Palm Beach, just north of Deerfield Beach, is having one of the hottest starts of any luxury market in the country, with luxury home prices climbing 22 percent this year. And as the luxury waterfront market expands throughout the area, Fort Lauderdale has been the recipient of escalating luxury unit demand and cost increases, the New York Times reports.

According to Redfin.com, here are the 15 most affordable beach towns:

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