A specific niche in the CRE multifamily space for brokers is just one of the thriving sectors in South Florida
The commercial real estate market has been a mixed bag in 2025. Some sectors, such as multifamily, have been able to overcome overall market headwinds and find success. Others, like office space, continue to struggle to rebound in a post-pandemic world.
For mortgage brokers and lenders, opportunities exist in specific sectors of the commercial market. Rick Porras (pictured top), CFO of Neology Development Group, said Florida, especially South Florida, can provide opportunities for brokers.
“I think the space here is pretty strong,” Porras told Mortgage Professional America. “The demand is strong, both the multifamily and on the retail aspect of that. There is still a lot of vacancy in office, but I do see that lenders are still willing to invest in multifamily property in South Florida.”
In fact, when speaking to other mortgage professionals, Porras regularly hears that South Florida is outpacing many other large markets. The only drawback is insurance risk.
“The lenders that I speak to, they say that of all the markets they do, whether it's Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Orlando, that South Florida seems to be the strongest as far as demand and maintaining occupancy rate,” Porras said. “The only challenge is that there is insurance risk, and that's just something that developers and operators need to be able to figure out.”
The nomadic young professional
One of the reasons that Porras said the multifamily market is doing so well is because so many young professionals looking to live in a big city for work often don’t stay long in any one job. They work there for a few years and then move on, making it easier for them to continue renting versus buying a home.
“We’re seeing younger professionals seem to be more willing to rent and move around,” he said. “They're not so much fixed on one location, or even one job. Someone is an employee somewhere for three or four years, and then they decide to take another offer. We have a lot of our residents that don't renew, usually end up moving out of the area because of a change in job.”
Brokers looking to find clients for CRE properties may see interest from Venezuelan residents. Due to the ongoing political strife there, many investors are looking at South Florida as an escape from troubles in their home country.
“There is a lot of family office money that's ready to invest, that's looking for investment opportunities, mainly from Venezuela, due to the situation and the political climate there,” Porras said. “There is a big influx of capital available in South Florida, specifically from Venezuela. So there is an opportunity, and they are looking for investment opportunities and options.”
In addition to standard multifamily properties, Porras said another property type that brokers may want to keep an eye on is former extended-stay hotels.
“An opportunity that seems to be arising more often are these extended-stay hotels,” he said. “We ran across one Residence Inn by Marriott. There was another one, I think it was from a Hilton property. They’re smaller, not like the large hotels. Those properties are a little older.
“It seems like the big players, the Marriotts and the Hiltons, want to get away from maintaining those projects. It's actually a pretty good opportunity to convert those into some kind of garden-style, multifamily residences or townhomes.
Needing affordable housing
With the ongoing condo crisis in Florida, everyone is seeking more housing options for low- and middle-income families in the state.
“There's just a lack of affordable housing in Florida, South Florida in particular,” Porras said. “A lot of people want to move here, and there's a lot of land available. Also, west of the cities, if you go into the suburbs, there's a lot of land available west of Palm Beach, west of I-95, West Broward, West Miami, Dade. There are a ton of available opportunities.”
As mortgage brokers look for deals in those areas, Porras said it is critical to partner with an experienced developer to help get the deal closed.
“You have to be a strong developer, you have to have a good track record to be able to get the financing, and you have to have a good pipeline of equity partners lined up as well,” he said. “It’s not like anybody can just do it. If the right developer comes along with the right equity partners and the right financing, the deal will get done.”
John Walkup, co-founder of UrbanDigs, says this fall could be make-or-break for non-luxury homebuyers as mortgage rates and headlines keep many on the sidelines.https://t.co/jn5sTWp5HZ
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) August 28, 2025
Just like in the residential market, Porras said everyone in the commercial real estate market is hoping that things will smooth out going into 2026. He’s hopeful of lower rates, but also realizes there is still a lot of uncertainty to sort through.
“Hopefully, 2026 should be strong,” he said. “Hopefully, by then, the market stabilizes. That's really one of the main concerns that everybody has right now, which is that everything's uncertain. Are interest rates really going to go down? Is the labor market going to deteriorate? Is unemployment going to go up? What is the tariff situation going to be like? Once we can get past that uncertainty, I think 2026 will just take off.”
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