By Gay Cororaton, MIAMI REALTORS(R) + RWorld Chief Economist
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Office asking rents in the Miami Market Area Brickell ($79 PSF) and the Miami-CBD ($78 PSF) continued to surpass office asking rents in Manhattan ($72 PSF) although the broader Miami Market ($60 PSF) retains a competitive edge on prices.
- The West Palm Beach-Boca Raton market area led the nation’s largest markets in year-over-year rent growth, with office asking rents rising 19.9% to $50.6 PSF. Nationally, office asking rents rose 2.6% to $33.3 PSF.
- Notable leases in the first half of 2026 include Iru’s East Coast HQ lease, Wells Fargo Wealth Management HQ lease in West Palm Beach, and Alphabet’s expansion in Miami.
Download the South Florida Office Commercial Insights August 2026 (issue #2) HERE.
South Florida continues to ascend as a premiere office hub alongside New York and San Francisco. With the area experiencing a demand for premium office space among tech, finance, and medical care firms, office asking rents in South Florida prime office submarkets like Brickell and Miami-Dade Downtown continue to be higher than the overall asking rents in Manhattan and San Francisco, according to MIAMI REALTORS® + RWorld analysis of Yardi Matrix data.
In the Miami market area, the average office asking rents rose 5.3% year-over-year to $60.3 PSF in July 2026. Overall, the Miami market area (covers several cities of Miami-Dade County) retains a competitive price advantage compared to Manhattan ($72 PSF).
However, office asking rents in some South Florida prime markets have outpaced those of Manhattan. In Brickell, the office asking rent was $79.7 PSF. In the Miami-Central Business District, the office asking rent was $78.4 PSF.
However, some submarkets in Manhattan such as New York-Midtown ($76.98) and New York-Midtown South ($81.14) are still more expensive, according to Cushman and Wakefield.
Tight vacancies and the willingness of occupiers to pay for premium office space is pushing up rents. In Brickell, office vacancy rate was 7.3%, with 96% Class A+/A inventory (9.6 MSF). In the Miami-Central Business District, the office vacancy rate is 13.2%, with 75% Class A+/A of office space (6.8 MSF). Demand for prime office space is spilling over into Coral Gables-Downtown with 75% Class A office space (5.9 MSF), with average office asking rent rising to $67.2 and with office vacancy at just 8.0%.
Demand for premium office space is moving into Fort Lauderdale. In the Fort Lauderdale market area, the average office asking rent rose 11.5% year-over-year to $42.8 PSF. In the Fort Lauderdale-Central Business District, asking rents rose to $68.7 PSF in July, with office space 97% Class A+/A (4.4 MSF). Office asking rents also rose in Hollywood to $51.7 PSF where the office vacancy rate is 11.6%, the lowest in the Fort Lauderdale market area.
The West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area posted the strongest year-over-year increase in office asking rents among the nation’s largest office markets in July 2026. Asking rents surged 19.9% to $50.6 per square foot. In the West Palm Beach – Central submarket, the office asking rent rose to $66.9 PSF, with the office vacancy rate at 12.7%. Of total office space, 55% is Class A (2.4 MSF). Office vacancies are tight in more affordable markets like Boynton Beach, Jupiter, and Boca Raton-North.
Notable leases by global companies in tech, wealth management/finance, and medical care
South Florida saw several notable new and expansion leases in the first half of 2026 among tech, finance, and medical industry tenants in Class A+/A space in premiere central business districts (Brickell/Downtown Miami, Miami Beach, West Palm Beach CBD) and high-end suburban submarkets (Coconut Grove, Boca Raton, Coral Gables and Aventura).
Iru (formerly Kandji), a software cybersecurity company that is headquartered in San Francisco, leased a 92,000 SF space at Mayfair in the Grove in the Coconut Grove submarket for its East Coast HQ. This is a significant expansion of Iru’s 30,000 SF lease signed in 2025 in The Plaza Coral Gables.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, also expanded its lease in January 2026 from 10,000 SF lease to 45,0000 at 1450 Brickell Avenue. The expansion follows the purchase of two residences in Coconut Grove by Google co-founder Sergei Brin in early 2026.
Wells Fargo relocated its Wealth Management Headquarters in Palm Beach County, signing a 50,000 SF lease at One Flagler in West Palm Beach in August 2026, which will be occupied by about 100 mostly senior wealth executives. Palm Beach County is the top county for wealth migration, with $22.7 billion in net income flowing to the county of taxpayers who moved there in 2019 through 2023, according to MIAMI REALTORS + RWorld research of IRS data. Palm Beach County: #1 in the Nation in Net Inflow of Income from Domestic Migration Per Latest IRS Tax Data – MIAMI REALTORS® + RWorld
Given South Florida’s growing population and its allure among retirees, MDVIP — a national leader in providing concierge primary care with 1,400 concierge physicians– signed a 49,466 SF lease at The Eclipse in Boca Raton, bringing occupancy at this building to 98%. MDVIP’s new corporate headquarters will house 200 employees.
Among tenants in the finance industry, Terrabank’s new lease for 40,000 SF at Coral Gables’ prime office building One Alhambra signed in March 2026 is the largest lease by a finance company. The relocation from a smaller building in Coral Way is intended to help expand the bank’s local presence.
Thiel Capital 18,200 SF lease at 830 Brickell sets a record as South Forida’s all-time priciest lease at $250 PSF. The building tenants include Citadel, Microsoft, Kirkland and Ellis, Thoma Bravo, Sidley Austin, Marsh, and Banco Santander.
