Key Takeaways
- • Miami ranked No. 3 among U.S. real estate markets to watch in 2027 for the second straight year, behind Dallas-Fort Worth and Nashville, according to the ULI and PwC Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2027 report.
- • Tyko Capital has provided over $2 billion in construction financing for South Florida projects within a year, including a record $817 million loan to Fortune International Group and KAR Properties.
- • South Florida investment sales totaled $6.9 billion through August, down 4.3 percent year over year, though multifamily deals are on pace to reach $3.1 billion this year.
- • Ken Griffin's Citadel is building a $2.5 billion, 1.7 million-square-foot Brickell headquarters, and Griffin paid over $1.1 billion for Mana Wynwood and nearby properties for a Carnegie Mellon campus.
- • Miami retail vacancy stands at 3.1 percent, the second-lowest nationally, while South Florida office vacancy fell to 13.7 percent in the third quarter, its lowest since late 2020.
Summary
Miami ranked No. 3 among U.S. real estate markets to watch in 2027 for the second consecutive year, according to the Urban Land Institute and PwC's Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2027 report, which draws on insights from nearly 1,500 surveyed investors, developers, lenders and advisers across the U.S. and Canada. Dallas-Fort Worth ranked first and Nashville second. The report attributes Miami's commercial appeal largely to its growing finance and technology sectors, corporate relocations, international capital and large-scale investment.
Ken Griffin's Citadel began vertical construction on its planned 1.7 million-square-foot, $2.5 billion Brickell headquarters. Griffin also paid more than $1.1 billion for Mana Wynwood and nearby properties to build a 35-acre Carnegie Mellon University campus, and teamed with Goldman Properties to buy the 545wyn office building in Wynwood from Sterling Bay for $181 million. Office demand is firm, with companies taking 2.8 million square feet, averaging just over 27,000 square feet each, per Cushman & Wakefield data cited in the report. Vacancy fell to 13.7 percent in the third quarter, its lowest since late 2020. Average Miami office rents are near $68 per square foot, about 10 percent below Manhattan, with Class A space fetching $100 to $120 per square foot.
Capital markets activity has cooled even as rents rise. South Florida recorded $6.9 billion in investment sales through August, down 4.3 percent from the same period in 2025, versus a $17.3 billion peak in 2022. Tyko Capital, a joint venture involving Adi Chugh and Paul Singer's Elliott Investment Management, provided a $464.5 million senior loan for Oak Row Equities and Vlad Doronin's OKO Group's record $520 million purchase of Aimco's waterfront Brickell assemblage in December. Tyko's most recent $817 million loan to Edgardo Defortuna's Fortune International Group and Shahab Karmely's KAR Properties set a state record, surpassing Property Markets Group's $668 million package for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami. South Florida multifamily volume is recovering from its 2023 low and is on pace to reach $3.1 billion this year, with vacancy at 8.1 percent and rents up 2.8 percent year over year in the third quarter.
Miami retail vacancy is 3.1 percent, the second-lowest in the country, and rents have risen 37 percent since 2019 versus 25 percent nationally. Tourism remains a major driver, with Greater Miami drawing a record 28.3 million visitors last year, generating $32.2 billion in economic impact and $22.7 billion in direct visitor spending. Infrastructure projects add momentum: Inter Miami's 329,000-square-foot Nu Stadium opened in April as the first phase of the $1 billion, 131-acre Miami Freedom Park, and Miami Worldcenter is adding 600,000 square feet of office space and 1,700 hotel rooms.
Ken Griffin's Citadel began vertical construction on its planned 1.7 million-square-foot, $2.5 billion Brickell headquarters. Griffin also paid more than $1.1 billion for Mana Wynwood and nearby properties to build a 35-acre Carnegie Mellon University campus, and teamed with Goldman Properties to buy the 545wyn office building in Wynwood from Sterling Bay for $181 million. Office demand is firm, with companies taking 2.8 million square feet, averaging just over 27,000 square feet each, per Cushman & Wakefield data cited in the report. Vacancy fell to 13.7 percent in the third quarter, its lowest since late 2020. Average Miami office rents are near $68 per square foot, about 10 percent below Manhattan, with Class A space fetching $100 to $120 per square foot.
Capital markets activity has cooled even as rents rise. South Florida recorded $6.9 billion in investment sales through August, down 4.3 percent from the same period in 2025, versus a $17.3 billion peak in 2022. Tyko Capital, a joint venture involving Adi Chugh and Paul Singer's Elliott Investment Management, provided a $464.5 million senior loan for Oak Row Equities and Vlad Doronin's OKO Group's record $520 million purchase of Aimco's waterfront Brickell assemblage in December. Tyko's most recent $817 million loan to Edgardo Defortuna's Fortune International Group and Shahab Karmely's KAR Properties set a state record, surpassing Property Markets Group's $668 million package for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami. South Florida multifamily volume is recovering from its 2023 low and is on pace to reach $3.1 billion this year, with vacancy at 8.1 percent and rents up 2.8 percent year over year in the third quarter.
Miami retail vacancy is 3.1 percent, the second-lowest in the country, and rents have risen 37 percent since 2019 versus 25 percent nationally. Tourism remains a major driver, with Greater Miami drawing a record 28.3 million visitors last year, generating $32.2 billion in economic impact and $22.7 billion in direct visitor spending. Infrastructure projects add momentum: Inter Miami's 329,000-square-foot Nu Stadium opened in April as the first phase of the $1 billion, 131-acre Miami Freedom Park, and Miami Worldcenter is adding 600,000 square feet of office space and 1,700 hotel rooms.
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