Market Analysis
Overview
South Florida’s development and construction market continues to demonstrate significant activity in 2026, supported by population growth, ongoing development, infrastructure investment, and demand across residential, multifamily, office, industrial, hospitality, and mixed-use sectors.
Multifamily development remains particularly active, with approximately 38,000 units under construction across South Florida, representing approximately 8.8% of existing inventory. Despite the elevated development pipeline, market fundamentals remain resilient, with year-over-year asking rents increasing 2.9% in Palm Beach County, 1.8% in Broward County, and 1.6% in Miami-Dade County.
At the same time, owners and developers continue to navigate elevated development costs, financing conditions, permitting complexity, labor availability, and changing supply dynamics.
EDP Group’s 2026 South Florida Construction Market Report examines current conditions across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, with a focus on the factors influencing development decisions, construction activity, and project execution.
2026 MARKET SNAPSHOT
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT
Miami’s multifamily market remains one of South Florida’s most active development sectors, with 15,481 units under construction in Q2 2026.
MULTIFAMILY CONSTRUCTION PIPELINE
15,481 UNITS
SUPPLY & DEMAND
Over the trailing 12 months, Miami absorbed 7,608 units compared with 7,847 units delivered, bringing new supply and demand close to equilibrium.
OCCUPANCY
Multifamily occupancy reached 94.6% in Q2 2026, while the construction pipeline represented approximately 7.3% of existing inventory.
DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK
Construction starts are beginning to moderate, with trailing 12-month starts declining to 6,813 units, indicating that Miami is moving beyond the peak of its recent multifamily supply cycle.
Broward County
MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT
Broward’s multifamily market continues to demonstrate strong demand as the county works through its recent wave of new apartment deliveries. The construction pipeline has begun to decline as fewer new projects move into construction.
MULTIFAMILY CONSTRUCTION PIPELINE
5,768 UNITS
SUPPLY & DEMAND
Through Q2 2026, Broward recorded 2,474 units of net absorption compared with 2,666 units delivered, showing that demand is closely tracking new supply.
MARKET CONDITIONS
Stabilized multifamily occupancy remained approximately 94.2%, while asking rents strengthened later in the year, increasing 1.8% year over year in August 2026.
DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK
With the construction pipeline declining from recent highs, Broward is transitioning from a period of heavy new supply toward a more balanced development environment. Fort Lauderdale and the Hollywood/Dania Beach corridor remain important areas of multifamily activity.
Palm Beach County
MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT
Palm Beach County’s multifamily market continues to show strong fundamentals in 2026, supported by positive absorption, high occupancy, and some of the strongest rent growth in South Florida.
MULTIFAMILY OCCUPANCY
95.2%
SUPPLY & DEMAND
Over the 12 months through July 2026, Palm Beach County recorded 1,619 units of net absorption compared with only 613 units completed, indicating demand significantly outpaced new supply.
MARKET CONDITIONS
Multifamily asking rents increased 2.9% year over year in August 2026, the strongest growth among the three major South Florida counties.
WEST PALM BEACH
West Palm Beach is one of the county’s strongest rental submarkets. In July, West Palm Beach–Central rents increased 5.8% year over year, while West Palm Beach–North increased 4.4%.
DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK
With demand exceeding recent deliveries and occupancy remaining strong, Palm Beach County presents a favorable multifamily environment as the broader U.S.
CONSTRUCTION COST ENVIRONMENT
CONSTRUCTION COSTS
Construction costs remain one of the most important considerations affecting development feasibility in 2026. Even as overall U.S. construction spending has softened, material pricing, skilled-labor constraints, energy costs and supply-chain pressures continue to drive escalation.
Turner & Townsend increased its 2026 national bid-price escalation forecast to 4.75%, while construction material costs were up 10.7% year over year in July 2026.
MIAMI MULTIFAMILY COST BENCHMARK
Q3 2026 COST BENCHMARK
$231/SF
Recent RSMeans/Gordian data places the Q3 2026 planning benchmark for 4–7 story apartment construction in Miami at approximately $231.17/SF, up 11.44% year over year. These square-foot models are conceptual planning benchmarks, not project-specific estimates.
HARD COST ENVIRONMENT
Florida Housing’s 2026 underwriting criteria assigns Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach higher hard-cost factors than the rest of Florida, including approximately $300,000/unit for mid-rise non-ESS and $355,000/unit for high-rise construction.
DEVELOPMENT IMPACT
Elevated construction pricing reinforces the importance of early budgeting, procurement strategy, value engineering and continuous cost control. For owners, the challenge is no longer simply establishing a development budget, but actively managing that budget as design, permitting and construction progress.
DEVELOPMENT & PERMITTING ENVIRONMENT
SOUTH FLORIDA DEVELOPMENT
South Florida development requires coordination across multiple jurisdictions, agencies, consultants, and approval processes. Permitting strategy can have a direct impact on project schedules, construction sequencing, financing, and overall development costs.
2026 FLORIDA BUILDING CODE
DEC. 31, 2026
BUILDING CODE
Florida’s Ninth Edition (2026) Building Code becomes effective December 31, 2026, creating an important planning consideration for projects approaching permitting and construction.
LOCAL JURISDICTIONS
South Florida projects may involve county and municipal building departments as well as environmental, utility, fire, transportation, and other agency reviews. Requirements and approval timelines can vary significantly by jurisdiction.
DEVELOPMENT IMPACT
Early coordination between ownership, design consultants, permitting agencies, and construction teams can help identify approval requirements, reduce avoidable delays, and better align design decisions with project schedule and budget.
2026–2027 DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK
MULTIFAMILY DEMAND
U.S. multifamily demand remained strong through the first half of 2026, with more than 279,000 units absorbed. At the same time, the construction pipeline has continued to contract, potentially creating a more favorable supply environment as projects deliver through 2027.
CAPITAL MARKETS
Commercial real estate capital markets strengthened during the first half of 2026. Transaction volume increased 31% year over year, while debt origination increased 25%, improving liquidity for real estate investment and development.
SOUTH FLORIDA SUPPLY
South Florida continues to carry a significant multifamily construction pipeline. However, moderating construction starts and resilient absorption suggest the region is beginning to transition from peak supply growth toward a more balanced development environment.
PROJECT FEASIBILITY
Improving capital availability and moderating future supply may create opportunities for well-positioned projects. Development feasibility, however, will continue to depend on land basis, financing, construction costs, achievable rents, permitting, and disciplined project execution.
Trends Influencing the South Florida Market
MULTIFAMILY SUPPLY & DEMAND
South Florida continues to absorb significant new multifamily supply. With construction starts moderating, the relationship between new deliveries and demand will be an important factor shaping development opportunities through 2027.
CAPITAL & FINANCING
Improving transaction activity and debt origination are creating a more functional capital environment. However, financing costs and underwriting requirements continue to influence project feasibility and development timing.
CONSTRUCTION COSTS & PROCUREMENT
Elevated material and labor costs continue to affect development budgets. Early procurement, value engineering, bid management, and continuous cost control are increasingly important to maintaining project feasibility.
PERMITTING & REGULATION
Complex local approval processes and the transition to the 2026 Florida Building Code make early permitting strategy and coordination increasingly important for South Florida projects.
Key Challenges
DEVELOPMENT COSTS
Elevated construction costs, land values, financing expenses, and insurance costs continue to place pressure on project feasibility and returns.
PERMITTING & SCHEDULE
Complex jurisdictional requirements and agency coordination can materially affect development schedules. Early planning and active permit management remain critical to project execution.
CAPITAL & FEASIBILITY
Although capital markets are improving, project economics remain sensitive to financing costs, achievable rents, construction costs, absorption, and exit assumptions.
Sources
- Newmark Research — U.S. Multifamily Capital Markets Conditions & Trends, Q1/Q2 2026
- Newmark Research — U.S. Capital Markets Conditions & Trends, Q2 2026
- MIAMI REALTORS® / RWorld — South Florida Residential Rental Market Reports, 2026
- Cushman & Wakefield — Broward & Palm Beach Multifamily MarketBeat, Q2 2026
- MMG Real Estate Advisors — Miami Multifamily Market Report, Q2 2026
- Turner & Townsend — U.S. Construction Market Intelligence, 2026
- Gordian / RSMeans — 2026 Construction Cost Data
- Florida Housing Finance Corporation — 2026 Development Cost / Underwriting Criteria
- Florida Building Commission — Ninth Edition (2026) Florida Building Code
- Miami-Dade County — Regulatory and Economic Resources
Disclaimer
This report is provided for general informational purposes only and is intended to present an overview of current construction and real estate development market conditions. Information has been compiled from third-party sources believed to be reliable; however, EDP Group does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Market conditions, construction costs, development activity, and other data may change over time. Project-specific decisions should be based on independent due diligence and analysis of the particular property, market, design, budget, and development conditions.
USE OF REPORT
This report and its original content are provided by EDP Group for informational purposes. Third-party market data remains attributable to the respective sources identified above. EDP Group’s commentary, analysis, presentation, and original content may not be reproduced or distributed for commercial purposes without prior written permission.
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