Gaia Real Estate has relocated its headquarters from New York City to Miami, marking a strategic shift toward investment in South Florida’s multifamily and single-family rental markets. The company announced it has established its new base at 8163 Northeast Second Avenue in Miami’s Little River neighborhood, where it is expanding its office footprint to a total of 5,000 square feet with two additional leases set to begin early next year.
CEO Danny Fishman stated in the release that the move brings Gaia closer to its “key markets,” adding that Miami has “the right momentum” for the firm’s continued growth. Founded by Fishman and Ken Woolley in 2009, Gaia has invested over $4 billion across more than 20,000 residential units nationwide.
While shifting its headquarters, Gaia will maintain an office at Carnegie Hall Tower in New York City. The company currently employs 35 staff members in New York and about 150 contracted employees at property sites across the country. The Miami office will open with ten employees in January, and all future hiring will be based there. Some existing staff may relocate or adopt hybrid work schedules between both cities.
Earlier this year, Gaia partnered with Moderno Development Group of Miami to launch a $300 million investment fund focused on acquiring and renovating or rebuilding single-family homes and townhomes throughout South Florida. These properties are intended for lease rather than sale as part of the venture’s first phase under development arm MILAS (Miami land and single-family). According to Moderno CEO Doron Broman, monthly rents for these homes will range from $4,000 to $7,000.
Moderno also occupies space at 8163 Northeast Second Avenue and owns the building through an affiliate.
In addition to its partnership with Moderno, Gaia is pursuing value-add multifamily investments and operates a discretionary real estate investment trust (REIT) targeting new multifamily properties across the Sun Belt region—including South Florida. To date, this REIT has invested approximately $300 million into more than 1,000 units located in Houston, Orlando, and Nashville.
The timing of Gaia’s expansion comes as South Florida’s apartment leasing market shows signs of cooling compared to the post-pandemic surge that drew many out-of-state residents—especially from New York and California—and led to record rent increases. Developers responded by completing a record number of units last year: about 18,600 apartments were delivered while only around 15,000 net new leases were signed during that period according to CoStar Group data (https://www.costargroup.com/). This oversupply contributed to slower lease-ups and declining rents even as construction activity remains high; CoStar reports that construction began on another 14,515 apartments in South Florida during the year ending September 30.
Despite these trends in traditional multifamily rentals, Broman said demand remains strong for single-family home rentals—a segment he described as having limited supply relative to need.
Gaia’s relocation underscores ongoing interest among New York-based firms looking southward for business opportunities. While migration slowed after peaking between 2020 and 2022—when companies moved operations seeking favorable regulatory conditions—the recent move suggests that some firms still see advantages in establishing a presence in South Florida.
