By Gay Cororaton, MIAMI REALTORS Chief Economist
Key Takeaways
- Fort Lauderdale led 30 market areas in multifamily investment profitability, with the highest cap rate of 6.3%, according to Yardi Matrix.
- Net absorption in the first three quarters of 2025 outpaced new deliveries of multifamily units in the Fort Lauderdale market area, resulting in a tighter vacancy rate of 7.9% compared to nationally (9.0%), according to Cushman and Wakefield.
- Broward County landed the biggest multifamily deals in the first quarters of 2025, according to Miami Realtors analysis of county records.
Download the 2025 Q3 Southeast Florida Residential Rental Market Report HERE.
Fort Lauderdale has highest cap rates (profitability indicator) among 30 markets
Investing in the Southeast Florida market yielded higher returns among 30 major markets year-to-date through September 2025, with Fort Lauderdale leading the list.
According to Yardi Matrix/Bisnow, Fort Lauderdale had the highest cap rate, at 6.27%. In the Miami market area, the average cap rate was 5.79%. In Palm Beach/Boca Raton, the cap rate was 4.98%.
These higher cap rates outpace the cap rates in the more expensive markets of Manhattan (5.24%),Los Angeles (4.86%), Washington DC (4.47%), and San Francisco (3.88%), where investors pay a higher price for a dollar of first-year net operating income.
Net absorption outpace new deliveries in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach
In multifamily buildings with over 50 units, Cushman and Wakefield reported lower vacancy rates in Broward County and Palm Beach County compared to Miami-Dade County.
In multifamily buildings with more than 50 units, the vacancy rate in the Fort Lauderdale market area in 2025 Q3 was 7.9%, and in the Palm Beach market area, at 7.3%. In the Miami market area, the vacancy rate was 9.1%. Nationally, the vacancy rate was 9.0%.
Net absorption (demand) has outpaced new deliveries (supply) in Broward County and Palm Beach County. in the Fort Lauderdale market area, deliveries of 2,781 units were below the net absorption of 3,005 units. In the Palm Beach market area, deliveries of 733 units also lagged the net absorption of 1,608 units, according to Cushman and Wakefield estimates. In contrast, deliveries (supply) outpaced net absorption (demand) in the Miami market area. Year-to-date through 2025 Q3, there were 6,282 units delivered in multifamily buildings with over 50 units, outpacing the net absorption of 4,983 units.
The tighter vacancy rate in Broward County and Palm Beach County indicates asking rents could firm up further. During 2025 Q3, the asking rent on units in multifamily buildings with more than 50 units rose 0.5% year-over-year in Fort Lauderdale too $2,411. In the Palm Beach market area, the rent rose to Broward County to 0.6% to $2,546. The Miami market area posted the highest rent growth of 1.7% to $2,557.
Broward County lands two largest multifamily deals in Southeast Florida in 2025
According to MIAMI Realtors® analysis of county records, sales of multifamily properties in the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach in the first three quarters of 2025 rose to $3.1 billion, a sustained increase from last year’s $3.0 billion over the same period. (see Southeast Florida Commercial Sales Volume Rose 18% to $9.6 Billion in 2025 Q1-Q3 – MIAMI REALTORS®)
In Broward County, multifamily sales volume rose to $1.28 billion, up 20% from one year ago. Broward County saw the two largest multifamily deals in South Florida. The largest deal is the acquisition by Ponte Gadea of a multifamily building on 201 S Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale for $165 million. The second largest deal is the acquisition by TA Pembroke Pines of a multifamily building on 16700 Sheridan Street, Pembroke Pines, for $118 million.
