Jaime Sturgis

Jaime Sturgis got his start in commercial real estate in Miami at Tony Cho’s Metro 1 brokerage, where he began his career in 2010. 

Seven years later, he launched Native Realty, based in Fort Lauderdale. Today, the firm is one of the top independent commercial leasing and sales brokerages in the Broward County city. 

During his time at Metro 1, investors were snapping up aging warehouses and other commercial buildings in the quickly gentrifying neighborhoods of Wynwood and Little River, renovating and leasing them to restaurants, galleries, yoga and Pilates studios, and the like. And Sturgis, as part of Metro 1, was among the brokers helping make it happen. 

But his hometown of Fort Lauderdale beckoned, where he also focused on warehouse districts. In the city’s Flagler Village, Native fully leased the Hive and Flagler Uptown buildings, both warehouse adaptive reuse projects, and sold them twice. In the Thrive Arts District, Native brought a tattoo studio, matcha café, a podcast studio, and a French wine bar and restaurant. 

Native has done over $1 billion in sales and leasing, primarily in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, plus Orlando and Tampa. Sturgis works closely with developers. 

In late 2023, Native expanded into residential, bringing in then-Re/Max First’s Whitney Dutton, Chris Sedlack and Arber Balani and acquiring No Limit Real Estate, an 18-employee agency. 

— Lidia Dinkova