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In South Florida, Buyers Are Moving Between Counties as Affordability Reshapes the Market
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Date:
09 Jun 2026
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South Florida’s real estate market spans three distinct counties, multiple buyer profiles, and a constant flow of domestic and international capital. For brokerages serving this region, the traditional model of specializing in either commercial or residential has increasingly become a limitation rather than a strength.
That tension is what led Denice Landaeta, founder of the Dluxuss Group operating under the Coldwell Banker banner, to structure her boutique team around a single idea: clients shouldn’t have to choose between commercial expertise and residential service. The team covers Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, with expansion now reaching into the Orlando and Tampa corridors.
A Market Still Moving, But Not Uniformly
With no state income tax, a growing cultural calendar that now includes Formula One, the Miami Open, and an upcoming World Cup, and a climate that draws year-round residents, South Florida remains a consistent destination for wealth relocation. But as interest rates have risen and inventory has loosened, the market is splitting sharply along price lines.
High-end properties, those in the $3 million to $5 million range and above, are moving quickly. Below the $1 million threshold, however, sales are taking longer, and buyer hesitation is more pronounced. Landaeta attributes part of that hesitation to a perception problem rather than a fundamental affordability crisis. Rates near 7% are historically normal, she notes, but buyers conditioned by pandemic-era lows view them as prohibitive. “The buyer thinks the interest rate is too high, but it’s not really high,” she says. “When I bought my first house here, it was at 7%.”
The Affordability Migration
One of the clearer trends playing out across the tri-county area is an internal migration driven by rising costs. As Miami has grown more expensive, buyers have moved north into Broward. As Broward prices have risen, the movement continues toward Palm Beach and further north into Port St. Lucie and beyond.
Landaeta sees this directly in her own transactions. A recent client sold a $1.5 million home in Weston and purchased a brand-new construction property in Port St. Lucie for $450,000. “We see immigration from county to county, based on affordability,” she notes. This pattern is reshaping demand across the region. Broward markets like Parkland, Weston, Miramar, and Pembroke Pines continue to perform well, while areas with heavy concentrations of 55-plus condo communities face more significant headwinds.
That condo segment deserves particular attention. Communities in areas like Tamarac and Sunrise are grappling with the financial weight of special assessments, large one-time fees levied on unit owners to cover deferred maintenance and repairs now mandated by updated state inspection requirements following high-profile structural failures. “Some of them can’t pay for it,” Landaeta says of residents facing these costs. Her team is currently working through several of these listings, which she describes as very difficult to sell in the current environment.
Sellers Still Anchored to Pandemic-Era Expectations
On the seller side, a disconnect persists between current market conditions and seller expectations. Many owners remain anchored to the price peaks of the pandemic period, creating friction in negotiations. Landaeta says misinformation from online valuation tools compounds the problem. “Sellers are irrational. They still think that we are in pandemic times,” she observes. “We have to face the reality with them.”
With more inventory available, buyers now have more options, and overpriced properties are sitting on the market longer. Managing that conversation with sellers has become one of the more demanding parts of the current market cycle.
Preparation as a Competitive Advantage
Where many agents list quickly and adjust price later, Landaeta’s team invests significant time, sometimes up to three months, in staging, repairs, and presentation before a property goes live. The group currently has four properties in various stages of preparation ahead of upcoming listings.
Landaeta treats this as a non-negotiable part of the process regardless of price point. “We repair anything that is not working, we stage, and we make sure the property is going to look incredible,” she explains. “By the time we hit the market, we’re going to be the best option.” The approach reflects a broader philosophy about client relationships built on long-term trust rather than transactional volume. This model has helped the group build a referral-driven business in a market where competition for listings is intense.
Where Investors Should Be Looking
For investors considering capital deployment in the Broward and Weston markets, Landaeta’s guidance is grounded in what she is seeing close. Single-family homes in strong school districts remain a reliable entry point for portfolio building; for those with more capital, commercial properties and multi-family assets offer stronger income potential.
The development side is also generating activity. The Dluxuss Group has been working with developers to identify teardown opportunities, guiding them through the full cycle from acquisition to construction planning and eventual sale. Two such projects have already been completed this year, with a third involving four homes currently underway. The team’s involvement spans market positioning, target buyer identification, and finish-level recommendations, essentially serving as a market intelligence resource for developers operating in unfamiliar submarkets.
Looking Ahead
The signals Landaeta is watching for 2026 and beyond point toward continued strength at the top of the market. Major corporate relocations, continued high-net-worth migration into the Miami area, and marquee international events are all expected to sustain demand at the upper end and generate downstream activity across price points.
Geographic expansion is also on the agenda. The group is actively pursuing market share in Fort Lauderdale’s waterfront segment while building out its commercial presence in Orlando and Tampa, where client demand is already pulling the team northward. For a boutique firm built on deep local expertise, the expansion into new markets will test whether that model can scale, and whether South Florida’s economic gravity continues drawing investment into new corridors.
About the Expert: Denice Landaeta is the founder of the Dluxuss Group, a boutique team operating under the Coldwell Banker banner across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, with expansion into the Orlando and Tampa corridors. The group serves both commercial and residential clients.
This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.
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