Real Estate

Real estate developers are planning to build a "city within a city" at the Southland Mall site in Cutler Bay.

Driving the news: Developer Electra America, its U.S. affiliate American Landmark, and BH Group this week announced preliminary plans to redevelop the 80-acre site 20 miles south of Miami.

Banks are trying to make it easier for certain Miami residents to become homeowners.

What's happening: Miami is one of five cities where Bank of America recently announced it's offering "zero down payment" loans for first-time buyers in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods who meet certain income requirements.

The University of Miami broke ground Friday on its largest outpatient facility, the latest element to be built within the 184-acre SoLé Mia — a massive, master-planned project in North Miami that's akin to a small city.

The intrigue: SoLé Mia's developer, Richard LeFrak, told Axios after the groundbreaking that demand for apartments at SoLé Mia has been stronger than expected.

Community leaders in Allapattah will call on Miami officials Thursday to incorporate affordable housing, green space and community services into a nearly 19-acre site poised for development.

Driving the news: Public Land for Public Good, a coalition of community groups, is holding a news conference with residents, church leaders and nonprofit Allapattah Collaborative CDC about potential changes to the city-owned site.

From the outside, Miami might seem like a city of sex-crazed partiers looking for superficial connections. But most of us are softies searching for true romance … and someone to split rent and utilities.

• That's what OK Cupid found when the online dating site combined some of its survey findings with data from Realtor.com.

The worst rent hikes appear to have passed, but prices are still rising, leaving tenants across the country facing "a prolonged period of unaffordable rental prices," according to Florida Atlantic University economist Ken H. Johnson.

By the numbers: Johnson and two other professors analyze rental rates each month. In their most recent analysis released Monday, they found that:

A new, luxury tower, the 49-story Elser Hotel & Residences, opened this month in downtown Miami, with units starting at $600,000.

The intrigue: The project was conceived as apartments, but developers decided to offer units for sale due to the strong demand for condos, especially ones that owners can lease as short-term rentals.

Miami put a ballot question up to voters this Aug. 23 election to decide whether the city should extend a lease for Riverside Wharf, which real estate developers want to revamp into a massive waterfront hotel and entertainment hub.

Catch up fast: In 2016, voters OK'd leasing public land on the east bank of the Miami River for 30 years with options to extend to 50 years. A year later, the site became home to trendy nightlife venue The Wharf.