The Miami office sector posted strong fundamentals throughout 2024, according to the latest CommercialEdge data. The metro marked a more than 41 percent jump in investment volume year-over-year, recording the busiest period in the last quarter.
Last year, high prices in the Magic City placed it fourth in the nation, the market also emerging as the most expensive gateway city for office deals, with assets trading at higher prices than even in Manhattan. Additionally, Miami’s end-of-2024 vacancy rate was the lowest in the U.S.
Significant projects boost Miami’s pipeline
As of December, the metro had 1.8 million square feet of space underway across 18 properties, accounting for 2.6 percent of existing stock—way above than the national average of 0.8 percent. Among gateway markets, Boston led the rankings with 3.4 percent, while Miami outperformed San Francisco (2.3 percent), Seattle (1.2 percent), Los Angeles (0.7 percent) and Washington, D.C. (0.3 percent). When adding projects in planning stages, Miami’s share reached 9.6 percent, second after Austin (12.6 percent).
The list of the largest projects under construction in the metro remained unchanged as of December. Royal Caribbean’s new headquarters remains the largest development, scheduled to come online in early 2026. The 380,000-square-foot project is rising at 1050 Caribbean Way in Miami’s central business district.
The second-largest project underway is UHealth Medical Center at SoLé Mia, a 363,000-square-foot medical office development in North Miami. Turnberry and LeFrak Organization are the developers, with the completion date pushed to September 2025.
Projects that started going vertical last year added up to nearly 1.4 million square feet across 10 properties, representing 1.7 percent of the existing stock. Additionally, developers completed 1.2 million square feet across nine properties—accounting for 1.5 percent of total stock.
The largest office project underway for years, the 640,000-square-foot 830 Brickell tower by OKO Group and Cain International came online in October 2024. The project was the first Class A tower to be constructed in Miami’s urban core in more than a decade, and currently includes top-tier tenants such as Microsoft, Blackstone, WeWork or CI Financial Corp.
A top market for residential makeovers
Office-to-residential conversions emerged as an attractive option in recent years. As a response to this trend, CommercialEdge launched a tool that measures a building’s potential for residential conversion and highlights which markets post strong repurposing fundamentals. The Conversion Feasibility Index scores includes three tiers, with Tier I properties being the most attractive candidates for such makeovers.
At the end of 2024, Miami had 21 office properties totaling nearly 2.9 million square feet within the Tier I category, while the Tier II included 138 buildings totaling 11.5 million square feet. The metro has a notable amount of office space posting high potential for residential conversions, with 3.7 percent of its office assets in Tier I and 12.4 percent in Tier II—emerging above the national averages 2.7 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively.
Ending the year as the priciest office market
Last year, Miami’s office sector saw in $1.4 billion in deals, with 46 properties totaling 3.5 million square feet changing hands—marking a 41.3 percent increase year-over-year. The volume reached $159.8 million at the end of the first quarter, while investment activity picked up during the second and third quarters. The last quarter ended with $668.7 million in deals—representing a 70.1 percent year-over-year growth.
In terms of total sales volume, Miami ranked fourth in the nation, after Los Angeles ($1.2 billion), while Manhattan led the rankings with $3.9 billion. The metro outperformed Chicago ($1.1 million), San Francisco ($786.6 million) and Seattle ($598.8 million).
Notable deals included the $443 million acquisition of 701 Brickell, a 685,215-square-foot high-rise. Nuveen Real Estate sold the 33-story property in one of the largest office transactions of Florida.
In 2024, Miami assets changed hands at an average sale price of $400 per square foot—above the national average of $175 per square foot. The Magic City emerged as the most expensive office metro in the nation, outpacing Manhattan ($369 per square foot), San Francisco ($350 per square foot) and Los Angeles ($281 per square foot). Chicago recorded the lowest figure among gateway markets, with an average sale price of $85 per square foot.
Mami’s vacancy rate lowest in the U.S.
Miami’s office vacancy rate stood at 15.2 percent as of December—below the national average of 19.8 percent and marking a 30 basis-point increase. The metro’s rate increased through 2024, from the 12.4 percent recorded in January.
The Magic City’s vacancy was lowest across the nation, followed by Manhattan (16.6 percent), Boston (17 percent) and Chicago (18.8 percent), while San Francisco posted the highest U.S. rate at 28.8 percent.
Notable office leases that closed last year in Miami include DigitalBridge’s headquarters relocation agreement: a 79,141-square-foot deal in Delray Beach Fla. Later in September, MetLife Real Estate Management secured a 128,450-square-foot renewal at its Wells Fargo Center in downtown Miami. The lease represented the largest office commitment in the metro’s central business district in recent years.
Coworking share the highest in Miami
The coworking sector in Miami comprised approximately 3 million square feet across 144 locations as of December, slightly less than in Seattle (3 million square feet). Manhattan led the rankings with 11.3 million square feet, followed by Chicago (77 million square feet) and Los Angeles (6.5 million square feet).
Miami’s share of flex office space as percentage of total leasable office space reached 3.8 percent, the highest across gateway markets and above the national average of 1.9 percent. The coworking provider with the largest footprint in the metro remained Regus, with operations totaling 379,211 square feet. The companies that followed were WeWork (268,578 square feet), Spaces (226,223 square feet), Quest Workspaces (221,749 square feet) and Industrious (215,000 square feet).
In early December, Regus signed a 45,789-square-foot full-building lease in Miami Beach, Fla. The deal came after WeWork closed its location at Azora Exan’s 429 Lenox in May.
