Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Makes Bold Move in Miami Real Estate Sector
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has placed a significant bet on Miami’s booming housing market through a major investment in Lennar, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders. In the first half of this year, Berkshire acquired more than 7 million shares of Lennar, valued at nearly $800 million.
According to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Berkshire purchased 5.3 million shares worth $575 million in the second quarter, following an earlier acquisition of 1.8 million shares for $222 million in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Lennar has been actively expanding its South Florida footprint. The homebuilding giant purchased three residential development sites in south Miami-Dade from Coral Gables-based Century Homebuilders Group for a combined $24.8 million. The acquisitions include:
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Portobello Estates (SE 18th Avenue & Florida Turnpike Extension) – planned for 54 single-family homes.
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Century Park Villas East (NE 1st Avenue & Palm Drive, Homestead) – a proposed community of 117 townhomes.
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Century Estates Royal (192nd Avenue & Mowry Drive, Homestead) – set to feature 54 units across duplexes and single-family homes.
News of Berkshire’s investment sent Lennar’s stock climbing above $135 per share on Friday morning, more than 4 percent higher than Thursday’s close, before settling at $132.40 by mid-afternoon—still nearly 2 percent higher on the day.
Berkshire Hathaway also diversified its homebuilding investments with a smaller stake in Arlington, Texas-based D.R. Horton. The firm purchased 1.5 million shares valued at about $203 million in the first quarter but later sold 27,000 shares in the second quarter for approximately $3.3 million.
Source: TheRealDeal.com / BIzjournals.com
