Gaia Real Estate has relocated its headquarters from New York City to Miami, signaling a shift in focus toward South Florida’s multifamily and single-family rental markets. The firm established its new base at 8163 Northeast Second Avenue in Miami’s Little River neighborhood, expanding its leased space to a total of 5,000 square feet with additional leases set to begin early next year.
According to Gaia CEO Danny Fishman, the move positions the company closer to its primary markets. “Miami has ‘the right momentum’ for Gaia’s evolution,” Fishman said in the announcement.
Founded in 2009 by Fishman and Ken Woolley, Gaia has historically operated out of New York and invested over $4 billion across more than 20,000 residential units nationwide. While the company will maintain an office at Carnegie Hall Tower in Manhattan with 35 staff members, future hiring will be based in Miami. The new Miami office is expected to start with 10 employees in January, with some New York staff relocating or adopting hybrid work arrangements.
Earlier this year, Gaia partnered with Moderno Development Group—also headquartered at the same Miami address—to launch a $300 million investment fund aimed at acquiring and redeveloping single-family homes and townhomes throughout South Florida. The partnership operates through MILAS (Miami land and single-family), intending to lease all homes included in the fund’s first phase. In May, Moderno CEO Doron Broman stated that monthly rents for these properties would range from $4,000 to $7,000.
In addition to this collaboration, Gaia is pursuing value-add multifamily investments and managing a discretionary real estate investment trust (REIT) targeting new multifamily projects across the Sun Belt region. The REIT has invested approximately $300 million into more than 1,000 units located in Houston, Orlando, and Nashville.
The move comes amid a slowdown in South Florida apartment leasing compared to previous years when migration from states like New York and California drove unprecedented demand and record rent growth following the pandemic. Developers responded by completing a record number of units last year—18,600 apartments—which exceeded net new leases by about 3,600 units according to CoStar Group data. This resulted in slower lease-ups and downward pressure on rents as construction activity remained strong; during the year ending September 30th alone, construction began on more than 14,500 apartments in South Florida.
Despite these market trends affecting traditional multifamily rentals, both Moderno and Gaia are focusing on single-family and townhome rentals—a segment that Broman described as having high demand but limited supply.
Gaia’s headquarters relocation suggests that while the pace of corporate migration from New York to South Florida has slowed since its peak between 2020 and 2022—driven largely by relaxed lockdown policies and a business-friendly environment—the trend continues as firms seek opportunities in the region.
