There are so many questions in real estate these days.
There are so many questions, period.
As I write this note on the second-to-last day in October, I realize that it will soon be a time capsule:
First, we don’t know right now who will be our next president.
Forget the existential future of our nation. If Kamala Harris is elected, will 3 million homes get built and what will that look like for the real estate market? If Donald Trump is re-elected, what will that look like?
The leadership of New York City is another open question (and nobody seems particularly concerned).
What is going to happen to Mayor Eric Adams, currently under indictment? And when it comes to real estate, can his deputies and departments come through so that projects can still get built? How impacted is the normal bureaucracy by all the investigations?
And then what will happen with City of Yes, the largest zoning change in decades, that could impact what can be built in New York? Or with the city’s broker fee bill, which could disrupt the landscape for rental agents even more than the National Association of Realtors commission verdict affected agents on the sales side of the brokerage business?
What is the road ahead at Douglas Elliman, the New York brokerage behemoth that forced out long-time chairman Howard Lorber last month?
Lorber’s exit came at the urging of the board of directors over concerns about the firm’s workplace culture after an internal investigation, according to reports. There are still questions being asked about what top brass knew when it came to sexual assault allegations against two of its former top brokers, Oren and Tal Alexander.
Hell, we don’t even know who is going to win the World Series as I sit here wrapping this up before the start of Game 5. (It’s likely the Dodgers, unfortunately.)
And finally, who will make news at our South Florida event on Nov. 6 and 7 in Miami?
It’s our biggest showcase yet, two full days of the most important names in real estate at Mana Wynwood. See TheRealDeal.com/Events for more information.
With so much in doubt, there are still some sure things.
One that seems pretty bankable is the future of South Florida. Even if it is not immune from headwinds, there is still plenty of gas in the tank, as several stories in the issue explore.
Our ranking of residential brokers in Miami shows that the top of the heap did more business than the year prior, even if some agents describe it as “challenging” and “an adjustment period.” Having buyers like Jeff Bezos and David and Victoria Beckham snapping up properties helps.
Elsewhere in the issue, check out our story on Rabsky Group’s Simon Dushinsky, the quiet emperor of Brooklyn development, who is now heading down to Fort Lauderdale, planning a project that would include the tallest tower in the city.
Finally, there’s our Closing interview with Miami’s Jeff Zalaznick, the co-founder of Major Food Group, who has had a decade of astronomical success with restaurants like Carbone, Torrisi and Sadelle’s. Expansion includes the restaurant group’s first residential project (every luxe brand becomes a condo project in Miami at some point), a tower on the city’s bayfront that developer David Martin is building.
It’s another sign of Miami’s certainty that it is the place to be, even if the rest of the world is unknowable.
Enjoy the issue and hope to see you at the event.