Miami’s luxury residential market is as hot as it’s ever been, thanks to a bunch of new billionaires in town, top agents said at The Real Deal South Florida Real Estate Forum.
Jeff Bezos, Ken Griffin and Barry Diller are just a few of the billionaires who’ve bought into the Magic City in recent years, driving record deals and bringing a spotlight to the area. Demand remains at record highs with wealthy inward migration to the region, while supply of in-demand luxury homes remains tight and price growth continues pushing upward. That’s according to Douglas Elliman’s Dina Goldentayer, Corcoran Group’s Julian Johnston, Compass’ Riley Smith and Jill Hertzberg of the Jills Zeder Group at Coldwell Banker Realty, who spoke at the panel, “Agents to the 1%: Breaking into Miami’s Most Exclusive Market” on Wednesday.
Despite high demand, low supply and sustained price growth, it’s a tougher environment to get deals done, the agents said. Pricing correctly is key for getting sales to closing, they said.
The Corcoran Group’s Julian Johnston, Riley Smith Group’s Riley Smith, The Jills Zeder Group’s Jill Hertzberg, Douglas Elliman’s Dina Goldentayer and TRD’s Katherine Kallergis (Photo by Alexis Manrodt)
“The market tells every single seller what they’re worth,” said Hertzberg, whose team ranked first in TRD’s 2024 Miami-Dade County broker ranking with $923 million in on-market sales. When homes are priced too high, they sit, and it’s the responsibility of the agents to engage sellers in a conversation about pricing for the current market reality.
“It’s a relationship there. Some of them don’t respect the relationship,” Hertzberg said of sellers.
Goldentayer, who placed second in TRD’s 2024 broker ranking with $735 million in on-market sales, said she’s turned down listings with unrealistic pricing. She’s targeting other agents’ expired listings to find sellers with more grounded understandings of the market and a stronger desire to sell, she said.
“They’re such an easier target to get a listing from because they’re usually upset like, ‘Hey, why didn’t my place sell,’” she said. “We all know being second agent is the more favorable position.”
The Corcoran Group’s Julian Johnston, Riley Smith Group’s Riley Smith, The Jills Zeder Group’s Jill Hertzberg, Douglas Elliman’s Dina Goldentayer and TRD’s Katherine Kallergis (Photo by Alexis Manrodt)
When it comes to what buyers want, the agents told a familiar story: new construction, close to schools.
“Everybody seems to want to be able to walk their kids to school,” said Smith, who focuses on Coconut Grove and Coral Gables and placed fourth in TRD’s ranking with $238 million in on-market sales.
Enrollment at many of Miami-Dade’s top private schools are at or near capacity, following years of family relocations from the Northeast.
Johnston, who placed sixth in TRD’s ranking with $216 million on-market sales, said he has a buyer with a budget between $40 million and $60 million who is waiting to buy until his child is admitted to the right school. The buyer’s been playing the admissions game for two years now.
Finding new construction is also a tough game with the current inventory.
“This inventory is so bad,” Riley said. “The best option is often not out of the ground yet.”
When it comes to working with ultra-high net worth clients, brokers in the crowd wanted to know how it’s done.
“It’s about meeting their needs,” Johnston said.
Agents agreed clients at the ultra-high end want brokers to be available and to understand their needs and desires. It’s also about personality fit.
“There is not an agent for every person,” Goldentayer said, emphasizing that no broker is a perfect one-size-fits-all.
And finding these really wealthy clients is about relationship building, Hertzberg said.
“There’s usually someone that I know that they know,” she said, describing how first contact works with billionaires. “I don’t think they really cold call.”
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