Francis Suarez.
Francis Suarez
Mayor at Miami
Perhaps no one deserves more credit for South Florida’s bull real estate market than Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
In late 2020, as the pandemic frustrated the workflows and planning of employers nationwide, Suarez responded on Twitter to a venture capitalist pondering how to “move Silicon Valley to Miami” with “How can I help?” Those four words reshaped Miami from a party town into a nascent tech and finance hub, which the real estate industry is now fast at work building.
High-powered executives, cooped up in New York and San Francisco, took note of a business-friendly elected official. Suarez’s warm proposal was in stark contrast to the business community’s cool, if not hostile, reception up north from local governments and residents.
Beyond just tweeting, the mayor lobbied hard for companies to make the move, including taking top executives to dinner and having city staff show them school options. Many took the bait, packed up their bags and relocated to the Magic City.
CEOs signed office leases for their companies, turning South Florida into one of the nation’s more resilient office markets, an impressive feat despite the rise of work from home.
And not only did billionaires buy homes, but so did their high-earning employees. Together they pushed Miami’s residential market to new highs, making it also one of hottest in the country. It was a remarkable comeback for a market considered to be ground zero for the 2008 financial crash.
Today residential and commercial developers are flocking not just to Miami but all over South Florida to meet the insatiable demand.
These days it’s hard to go to any conference in South Florida and not hear real estate and business power players shower Suarez with praise. He’s not going anywhere. Last year, Suarez, a centrist Republican, coasted to reelection, earning 79 percent of the vote.
