What Tere Blanca Sees in Miami's Office Market

MIAMI—Existing core trophy office remains at a premium. Condo developers have snapped up most of the available land in the urban core.

What does that mean for Miami's office market? Although most industry watchers agree now is not the time to build, the market may soon shift from a tenant to landlord, especially for premium spots.

We caught up with Tere Blanca, president & CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, to get her thoughts on the topic. She tells GlobeSt.com when she looks at office submarkets across Miami-Dade, places like downtown Miami and Brickell, Coral Gables, Doral, Coconut Grove, Aventura and South Miami are all experiencing rising occupancy, rising leasing rates, and little by way of new inventory expected over the next three years.

What's driving this? She says: “These dynamics are being fueled by Miami's global brand as a top international city to conduct business—with more than 30% of the leasing activity coming from new-to-market entries—and by high barriers to entry for financing development of new multi-tenant office product.”

Blanca says the Miami office market continues to experience brisk demand that is expected to yield strong positive net absorption this year. As she sees is, the urban core offers something for everyone right now—from existing class A and B product and pre-leasing options for occupancy in 2016-2017 to recently renovated buildings such as 1111 Brickell and soon-to-be-renovated buildings such as Brickell City Tower.

“All of this spells opportunity for businesses looking to enter the Miami market and expand here,” Blanca concludes. “Quality tenants can still create competition for their occupancy, so long as they take a thoughtful approach to addressing their occupancy needs.”

If you missed part one of this series, you can still read what JLL's Scott Strickland and Bilzin Sumberg's Jim Shindell have to say in: Miami Condo Boom Squeezing Office Market?