Miami Beach ranks near bottom in national real estate market report

MIAMI – Florida’s real estate market, once among the nation’s strongest, is now showing significant struggles in 2025, with one of its most prominent cities, Miami Beach, ranking near the bottom of a new WalletHub report on the best U.S. real estate markets.

The report, “2025’s Best Real-Estate Markets,” compared 300 cities across 17 key metrics, finding Miami Beach ranked 291st.

The city’s low ranking was attributed to its extremely high vacancy rate and properties staying on the market for an unusually long time.

According to the report, Miami Beach’s vacancy rate was 17.9 times higher than Fontana, California, the city with the lowest rate, and homes lingered on the market more than four times longer on average than in Manchester, New Hampshire.

In contrast, Port St. Lucie performs well, ranking in the top 50, placing 14th on the list, and Tampa at 37th.

The report’s findings reflect ongoing challenges with affordability and a mismatch between the housing supply and the needs of middle-class families.

Nationally, McKinney, Texas, topped the rankings for best real estate market, with Texas cities claiming five of the top ten spots.

Conversely, other cities including New Orleans, Shreveport, and Baton Rouge clustered at the bottom, joining Miami Beach.

The report’s methodology compared cities on metrics such as median home-price appreciation, job growth, vacancy rates, and the share of underwater mortgages.