New York broker Horacio LeDon is expanding his reach to Miami’s Design District neighborhood. LeDon, a former Starwood and Related executive, has opened up in a new space at 44th Street and NE 2nd Avenue. “I realized that a lot of my business was coming up to New York from Miami, and a lot of New Yorkers are going down to Miami to buy now,” LeDon told The Real Deal. “So the synergies are clear.”
LeDon is the latest in a wave of New York brokerages and agents — most notably Jacky Teplitzky and Oren Alexander of Douglas Elliman — to set up camp in the Magic City.
Alexander headlined the largest residential transaction in Miami-Dade County history, a $47 million sale on Indian Creek, earlier this month.
Douglas Elliman Florida has also been in expansion mode, opening new offices in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Palm Beach. And much of that has been a bid to capture the New York demographic, which has been returning to Miami after a nearly two-year period dominated by South American buyers.
LeDon, who has an eponymous office in New York City, is also considering opening a branch in Los Angeles, where he is also licensed, he said.
The Design District is home to several Miami brokerages, including Majestic Properties. And the nearby Wynwood and Midtown areas have been developing into some of Miami’s most active neighborhoods.
Part of that is because South Beach is beginning to become “diluted,” he said.
“South Beach has more second-home people,” he said. “[The Design District] is becoming a real community.”
The initial plan involves working with managing broker Alex Rodriguez, a CPA, with the ultimate goal of bringing on between 5 and 10 Miami agents.
“I thought I could capture not only the percentage on the commission I was paying out to local brokers in Miami, but also be able to work with some agents that potentially want to work under my brand,” he said. “And then start building a small business [here].”