MIAMI—Taylor & Mathis' Miami-Dade's leasing team posted another stellar leasing year in 2015. With a leasing portfolio spanning 4.7 million square feet of office space across Miami-Dade as well as the trophy office tower Phillips Point in West Palm Beach, the team completed 85 leases in 2015. All told, the leases totaled over 472,000 square feet and were valued at $138 million.  

"The office market is sizzling right now," Taylor principal Brian Gale tells GlobeSt.com. "Rents are increasing and tenant concessions are dwindling, as space is being absorbed throughout the county."

Gale, Andrew Trench, Ryan Holtzman, Jeannette Mendoza, and coordinator, Nicole Gamarr make up the Taylor team. Throughout the team's Miami-Dade portfolio in 2015, they leased 220,000 square feet of new leases, 172,000 square feet of renewals and 80,000 square feet of expansions.

"It's a landlord's market," Gale says. "The Airport West market was the hottest of the Miami-Dade submarkets in 2015 and there is no sign of it slowing down."

Most of the tenant expansions have been in the professional services field, which include law firms, accounting firms and insurance agencies. The strongest activity came from the eight building Waterford at Blue Lagoon portfolio with 167,000 square feet of leases and One Biscayne Tower with over 107,000 square feet of leases.

"The key to making deals in today's fast paced market is to try and stay ahead of the competition," Gale says. "If you are doing a renewal, you have to start the process early, with some hand holding.

Key lease deals throughout the team's portfolio included: a 57,000-square-foot lease at Waterford in the Airport East submarket; Univision's 40,000-square-foot lease at 9250 Doral in the Airport West/Doral submarket; National General's 30,000 square-foot-least at 6101 Waterford in the Airport East submarket; Broad & Cassel's 26,000-square-foot renewal at One Biscayne Tower in the Brickell submarket; Jackson Lewis' 22,800-square-foot renewal and expansion at One Biscayne Tower in the Brickell submarket; CMA CGM's 21,000-square-foot renewal and expansion at One Biscayne Tower in the Brickell submarket; and SilverSea Cruises' 16,300-square-foot deal at Wells Fargo Center in Downtown Miami.

"Regarding expansions, it's important not to land lock tenants in their pursuit for additional space and with new leases, well, you have to distinguish your building from the rest and promote the amenities, which separates your building," says Gale. "2016 is setting up to be a big year for landlord's to push rents and absorb their vacancies."