South Florida Real Estate: August 2025 Market Update

⚙️ 1. HueHub: 4,000-Unit Workforce Housing Speeds Ahead in Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade County has granted final approval to The HueHub, a $880 million mixed‑use development in West Little River, comprising 4,032 rental units across seven 35‑story towers. It is now the largest proposed project under Florida’s Live Local Act, which enables developers to bypass local zoning in exchange for dedicating at least 40% of units at workforce rates (≤ 120% AMI)—in HueHub’s case, monthly rent starts at roughly $1,300 (studio), $1,600 (1BR), and $1,900 (2BR) The Business JournalsBisnow.

Developer Pablo Castro is in talks with New York lenders for a ≈ $600M financing package, with pre‑construction projected for late 2025. The property will feature 200,000 SF of communal amenities, including coworking spaces, urgent care, educational facilities, and retail. Plans also include reserving 3,000 units for teachers, healthcare workers, and first responders at fixed rents for 10 years BisnowInsurance Journal.

Why this matters: HueHub marks a turning point for the “missing‑middle” rental landscape—offering below-market living tied to transit access and modern services at scale.

💼 2. Office Leasing in Broward Continues to Impress

At Hillsboro Center in Deerfield Beach, the developer Grover Corlew achieved 90% occupancy by signing two major tenants:

• The Corradino Group (≈27,000 SF) for the SW 10th Street Connector, a $1.3B FDOT infrastructure project.

• Wemlo (≈3,100 SF), a fintech offshoot of RE/MAX Holdings CRE-sources.

Following recent capital investments (> $11M), the campus—which sits at 600/700 Hillsboro Blvd. near I‑95—is performing well. Corlew also received approval to add 360 Mayla-branded apartments, indicating a mixed‑use evolution of suburban office parks.

🩻 3. Distress Signal: Natiivo Fort Lauderdale Condo Faces Foreclosure

In a sign of capital stress, Kushner Companies filed to foreclose on Newgard Development’s $23M debt tied to the Natiivo Fort Lauderdale project—a high-profile downtown condo building planned alongside office and retail space. The mortgage matured on June 15, 2024 and was not refinanced in time The Business Journals.

This signals both project-level risk and broader vulnerabilities in South Florida’s condo pipeline, particularly those targeting investors or short-term rentals.

📉 4. Owners Squeezed: Florida Condo Affordability in Decline

The Tampa Bay Times reports that South Florida condominium owners—particularly on Brickell Key and Miami Beach—are facing mounting financial pressure from:

• Surging HOA & insurance costs;

• Flat property values;

• High months’ inventory and slowed resale markets The Business Journals.

Markets like Miami-Dade continue to see higher median prices (≈ $450K for condos), but median days on market have climbed to ~68, and overall supply is swollen, leaving many unit owners unable to sell or refinance.

🌍 5. Demand Stays Strong: International Buyers Still Driving New Condo Sales

A recent MIAMI REALTORS® international sales report reveals that over the 18 months ending June 2025, 49% of all new construction and condo conversion purchases in South Florida were made by global buyers. Remarkably, 86% of those buyers were Latin American residents—upward of 99% in downtown Miami, 84% in Southeast Broward, and similar numbers in Coconut Grove and West Palm Beach PRWebThe Business Journals.

This underscores both the continuing appeal of foreign investment to local developers and capital markets—and potential obstacles to affordability for domestic buyers.

🎯 6. How Agents are Adapting: Tech & New Negotiation Playbooks

Negotiation Landscape

A survey from South Florida Agent highlights major shifts in how local agents are handling offers—particularly lowball bids:

• Sellers expect fast-lead responses (often same-day).

• Agents recommend framing low offers as dialogue opportunities, rather than dismissals.

• Successful tactics include reviewing buyer qualifications before discussing price, building urgency, and revisiting seller motivations (timelines, market conditions) South Florida Agent Magazine.

Jeff Glover—reaching 50–60 listings monthly—emphasizes setting the emotional tone early and always scheduling a briefing call, not just forwarding offers.

MLS & Backend Updates

Meanwhile, BeachesMLS is rolling out its AI-enhanced new backend system in 2025, complete with conditional logic, compliance checks, AI-generated descriptions, and validation safeguards—all built to cut agent paperwork and boost listing accuracy, with standardized feeds across Broward, Palm Beach & St. Lucie counties South Florida Agent Magazine.

📊 7. Market Snapshot: Supply Up, Prices Holding

With elevated mortgage rates, buyers are pressing for seller concessions, and new inventory is hitting the market faster than demand can absorb it. Price discovery is becoming more delicate—buyers now often secure median-valuations or below.

✅ Bottom Line & Takeaways

• For Buyers & Renters: The arrival of large-scale workforce housing projects like HueHub expands below-market options—but competition will be fierce upon delivery.

• For Investors & Agents: Rising condo exits and tightening capital suggest caution around speculative new construction; refreshed negotiation strategies will be essential.

• For Developers: Projects offering international-friendly new units may still assign demand, but navigating financing timelines and regulatory hurdles is now more sensitive.

• For Policy Makers: It's crunch time to turn approved Live Local pipeline projects into realized housing units—and to tackle associated problems such as insurance, transit connectivity, and infrastructure gaps.