U.S. Real Estate Seen as Strong at Miami Forum

MIAMI — Around 120 leaders from the real estate sector gathered at the Real Estate Forum 2025 in Miami, where they agreed that the United States continues to be a safe bet for real estate, thanks to the strength of its market, its capacity for value appreciation, and its role as an alternative in the face of global financial volatility.

During the forum organized by the Spanish-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with ABANCA USA as the main sponsor, various panels of experts discussed the challenges and opportunities currently facing the sector, especially for office, retail, residential, multifamily and hotel industry real estate.

The event began with a panel with ABANCA USA General Manager and Spanish-U.S. Chamber of Commerce Chairwoman Mónica Vázquez and Related Group President Jon Paul Pérez, who both highlighted Florida's emergence as a leading destination for real estate investment, especially from other countries and other U.S. states.

They also highlighted the appeal of less densely populated coastal areas and warned that tariffs are creating uncertainty for investors and developers.

"Investments from Latin America have slowed down due to the current political situation in the country," Pérez said in an interview with EFE, although he maintained that "over time, the situation will return to normal."

For his part, The Estates Companies Principal Alejandro Arrieta said that the sector has a "very good" outlook for the future and added that South Florida is the "strongest market, if not in the world, then certainly in the United States."

Rilea Group President Alan Ojeda highlighted that one of the challenges facing South Florida is the creation of affordable communities that are well connected by public transport, an essential factor for the area's sustainable growth.

In addition to this, other panelists at the event emphasized the need to adopt advanced technological solutions, such as AI, and sustainable practices to optimize residential management.

The main challenges

In the panel, "Structuring and Financing Real Estate Projects," ABANCA Chief Lending Officer Margarita Sánchez-Lloria indicated that "financing based on trusted relationships continues to be the main objective of banks," while funds and institutions tend to operate in a more transactional manner, accepting higher levels of debt in exchange for a higher price.

She also said that some of the challenges faced by foreign investors are "bureaucracy, which is very different from that in their countries of origin," and access to financing, since for them "local banking is quite closed."

Forum conclusions

"Our goal with the Real Estate Forum is for it to become an annual meeting point for the sector's main decision-makers, offering a space for debate with different perspectives and a cross-sectional view of the industry," said Spanish-US Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Juan Carlos Pereira.

In addition, Vázquez highlighted the importance of the space for conversation, with the aim of holding key discussions about the prospects for the sector.

"It has been a forum where the most important thing is that a platform for communication has been created between the major leaders in real estate and investors. There has been a lot of communication, very open conversations about opportunities, challenges, and difficulties," the ABANCA USA general manager told EFE.

The event comes at a time of growth for the U.S. real estate sector, which could reach a market value of $3.11 trillion by 2030, according to a statement from the Spanish-U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Vázquez also stressed that the United States is a strategic market for ABANCA, a Spanish bank with a presence in 11 countries in Europe and the Americas.

In six years of activity in the U.S., the country has become the third most important market for the institution in terms of turnover, surpassed only by Spain and Portugal.

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