Money for many: South Florida real estate firms flush with PPP cash

Real estate brokers and firms received $229M in funds

Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties (Illustration by The Real Deal with Getty)

Adam Farence

Oct 6, 2022, 9:45 AM

The Payroll Protection Program put plenty of money in the hands of South Florida real estate firms — more so than anywhere else in the state.

Companies in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties took home the most dough, according to data updated Sunday by the Small Business Administration. Of those, the lion’s share of wealth went to Miami-Dade.

The firms in South Florida, including brokerages and some developers, netted $229 million in real estate-PPP funds through 11,110 loans. In Miami Dade, real estate companies borrowed $104 million, while those in Palm Beach and Broward counties each received a more modest $67 million and $58 million respectively, according to an analysis by The Real Deal.

To date, $192 million, or 84 percent, of those funds have been forgiven or paid off. In Miami-Dade, about $87 million PPP loans were forgiven or paid off, followed by $55 million in Palm Beach and $50 million in Broward. (The SBA’s data did not separate what was forgiven versus what was paid back.)

Totals were calculated based on the county where the borrowers planned to spend the money. In all three counties, each loan created an average of two jobs.

In Miami-Dade, PRH Investments, an affiliate of the Miami-based Related Group, received the highest loan amount of $4.5 million. In Palm Beach, Priderock Capital Management secured $4.4 million and in Broward, the commercial real estate firm Accesso Resources received a $3.6 million loan. It’s unclear if PRH had their loan settled — Priderock Capital Management and Broward Accesso both did.

Miami-Dade

In Miami-Dade, real estate firms took out about 5,100 PPP loans, totaling nearly $104 million. The average loan amount was about $20,000. In total, the borrowers reportedly created nearly 10,700 jobs. On top of Related, other firms that secured PPP funds included the Coral Gables-based Allen Morris Company, which received a $946,500 loan that it paid off.

Palm Beach County

For Palm Beach, real estate brokerages and firms took out nearly 2,600 loans totaling $58.2 million. The average loan was about $22,500 and the recipients reportedly created a total of 5,565 jobs. Companies that secured loans include the Jupiter brokerage Waterfront Properties, which received about $328,000 that it paid off.

Broward

In Broward, the real estate companies took home $67 million over 3,415 loans, averaging about $19,600 per loan. Countywide, 7,140 jobs were reportedly created from the loans. Among the borrowers is Fort Lauderdale-based Berger Commercial Realty, which received $759,000 that it paid off.

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