The effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are not yet completely quantifiable, yet real estate experts in the field are already seeing changes in interstate migration from high- to low-tax markets.
Chris Leavitt, director of luxury sales at Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Palm Beach, Fla. says, “I’ve seen a huge increase in the number of clients who want to purchase here to establish residency in Florida ... There has been a pickup since Jan. 1.” The Wall Street Journal reports that provisions of the new tax law benefit high-net-worth individuals, including a reduced top individual tax rate, and expanded estate and gift tax exemption.
Real-estate developer David Hutchinson, president of Ketchum, Idaho-based VP Cos., is touting the tax advantages of living in Nevada on the website for Clear Creek Tahoe, a golf community that will ultimately include 368 custom homes—a project in which he is a partner. Californians to the west can pay a state income-tax rate of up to 13.3 percent, while Nevada residents just 30 minutes to the east pay no state income taxes. "If you’re a wealthy tech executive from the Bay Area who can live wherever you want and you have a $3 million income, you would have $399,000 a year in savings here. That’s a lot of money to spend on real estate.”
