A hot pocket in a soft market
Most Miami condos have been stuck in the slow lane, but there is one clear outlier: sky-high preconstruction deals. On Brickell Key, a manmade island off the city's financial district, The Residences at Mandarin Oriental Miami has notched $1.7 billion in signed contracts before breaking ground, according to David Martin, president of Swire Properties. The tally includes two record-setting penthouses that went for about $50 million apiece.
Who is buying and how they pay
This wave of demand skews more domestic than usual for Miami's top tier. Martin said around 65% of buyers are from the U.S., with many out-of-state clients coming from California, New York and Massachusetts. Finance and tech professionals are leading the charge, and many purchases are being made entirely in cash.
About 30% of buyers plan to make these condos their main residence, while roughly 60% intend to use them as second homes. "The economy of Miami has changed at the top end almost beyond recognition," Martin said. "People are just beginning to understand what that means."
Towers, pricing momentum, and the neighborhood catalyst
Sales for the 66-story south tower began in 2024, and prices for those units have climbed 30% since then. That tower will include 228 residences, and Martin said 80% are already spoken for. The 33-story north building will combine a 121-room hotel with residences, where about a quarter of the homes are sold so far.
The previous Mandarin Oriental hotel on the site was demolished earlier this year. Martin sees a five-year "runway" in Brickell fueled by two nearby office projects: Banco Santander SA is putting up a tower at 1401 Brickell Avenue, and Citadel has started work a few blocks south on its headquarters. At 1401 Brickell Avenue, Banco Santander SA is developing a new tower, while a few blocks to the south Citadel has begun construction on its headquarters.
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Each project is slated to rise to roughly 50 stories and draw a diverse roster of tenants. "We're competing with single-family homes" in the $8 million to $10 million range, he added. "That speaks to how people are living."
How it's funded and why that matters for buyers
Swire is covering construction itself and can pull from proceeds tied to sales of its Brickell City Centre assets, plus a portion of buyer deposits, Martin said. The company, which developed the mixed-use Brickell City Centre and has been active in Miami for more than 40 years, began buying land on Brickell Key in the late 1970s. Groundbreaking happens this week and will be marked by a Thursday evening celebration, with the towers slated to be completed in 2030.
Swire declined to share total construction costs or expected sales proceeds. The developer sits within the corporate family tree of a roughly 200-year-old firm that owns Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and largely operates in Asia.
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