MIAMI 鈥� Mavens of the local real estate scene gathered in Miami on Wednesday with a gleam in their eyes. The night before, voters had cast ballots in an election that some brokers and developers speculated could fuel demand for South Florida property.
The Miami mayoral election? Nope. The one 1,300 miles north, in New York City.
鈥淭hat seems to be all that people are talking about this morning,鈥� said Stuart Elliott, the editor-in-chief and CEO of The Real Deal, a national real estate publication, which hosted the forum Wednesday.
From the moment that Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor in June, real estate circles from Miami to Palm Beach have been aflutter. Would the election of a democratic socialist drive more wealthy New Yorkers south?
South Florida has long been a mecca for Latin Americans fleeing left-leaning governments in their home countries. And a few years ago, the state鈥檚 relative lack of pandemic restrictions drew new residents, including many from New York, who registered to vote as Republicans and helped shift the state to the political right.
Florida鈥檚 Republican politicians, starting with Gov. Ron DeSantis, have been keen to stoke the chatter about a New York exodus. DeSantis has spent months crowing that Mamdani would be the 鈥淩ealtor of the year鈥� in Palm Beach, driving up mansion prices as New Yorkers wary of his progressive policies voted with their feet.
By Wednesday morning, DeSantis had posted a survey on the social platform X asking if Florida鈥檚 response to Mamdani鈥檚 election should be 鈥淏uild a FL border wall,鈥� 鈥淭ariff all transplants,鈥� or 鈥淩ecruit new transplants.鈥�
At the Miami real estate forum, attendees mingled amid expo booths that showed off luxury condo towers, top-of-the-line kitchen appliances and investment opportunities in Panama and Puerto Rico. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think New York鈥檚 over,鈥� one man in a suit could be overheard telling another in the VIP room, before adding that he worried about antisemitism in the city.
Panelists were quick to throw shade on Mamdani. One of them, Kevin Maloney, the founder and CEO of Property Markets Group, a developer, said he contributed to Mamdani鈥檚 campaign not because he supported his policies, but because he might be good for business.
鈥淚 was a big fan of Bill de Blasio because I was pretty sure he was going to do a certain amount of damage to the city, and in that respect, he was a great mayor,鈥� Maloney said from stage. 鈥淢amdani, I think, is probably going to end the city. Being an entrepreneur, I think that in five years we鈥檒l go and pick up all the pieces at a very low price point.鈥�
Mamdani鈥檚 campaign was not immediately available for comment.
Ian Bruce Eichner, the chair and CEO of The Continuum Co., another developer, said from the stage that he was 鈥渘ot an optimist鈥� about New York under Mamdani. But he cautioned that Miami was running into a New York-like problem, with its lack of housing for working people.
Florida is still growing overall, but South Florida, which is especially expensive, has been losing residents. A recent survey by the Business and Economic Polling Initiative at Florida Atlantic University found that a quarter of respondents were 鈥渟eriously considering鈥� moving elsewhere because of the high cost of living.
South Florida鈥檚 demographic picture has been complicated by other factors, too.
While Latin Americans and other immigrants are still the region鈥檚 top real estate customers, they are struggling more often now to obtain U.S. visas, said Carlos Rosso, the founder of Rosso Development.
Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, said she did not believe New Yorkers were preparing to arrive en masse.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an emotional reaction,鈥� she told reporters Wednesday. 鈥淚 think everyone needs to take a deep breath. I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 going to happen.鈥�
Try telling that to the crowd at the real estate forum.
鈥淧robably 80% of the brokers woke up this morning and had a shot of vodka,鈥� Sam Nazarian, a Miami hospitality entrepreneur, said in the opening session. After all, they鈥檙e going to be busy, he said with an expletive.
This article originally appeared in . 漏 2025 The New York Times
