FLOW week 25

FLOW

Florida Financial Intelligence

Week Ending July 12, 2026  ·  Published Monday, July 13, 2026

The Housing Law Is on the Books, South Florida Is Worth $1.6 Trillion, and Steward Partners Just Had the Quarter of Any Firm in Florida Wealth Management

Three major developments converged this week: America’s first major housing legislation in 30 years became law without a presidential signature. A new $1.6 trillion housing wealth figure confirmed South Florida’s scale. And Steward Partners disclosed a $3.7 billion Q2 with two Florida teams at the center of it.

FLORIDA CAPITAL FLOWS

The Housing Law Is on the Books — Here Is What Changes for Florida

At 12:01 AM on Saturday, July 11, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became federal law. No presidential signature required. Trump refused to sign or veto it. The 10-day constitutional clock ran out. The bill enacted itself.

The law is the most significant federal housing legislation since the 1990s. It passed the House 358-32. It passed the Senate 85-5. Both margins were veto-proof. Trump called it “a big yawn.” The White House press secretary called it “one of the most significant pieces of housing legislation in American history.” Both assessments were simultaneously offered by the same administration. The political incoherence around the bill does not change its legal effect.

For Florida, the provisions that matter most are these: large institutional investors owning 350 or more single-family homes are now restricted from purchasing additional single-family homes. Existing portfolios are grandfathered. Build-to-rent communities are exempted but must be sold to individual buyers within seven years. Environmental review streamlining will accelerate permitting for new construction across Florida’s fastest-growing counties. New zoning reform grants create financial incentives for local governments to permit more housing — a direct pressure valve for the supply-constrained markets of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach.

The institutional SFR restriction does not immediately reduce existing inventory or displace current tenants. But it does permanently redirect the flow of institutional housing capital. Invitation Homes, American Homes 4 Rent, Progress Residential, and Tricon Residential — all with material Florida portfolios — are now structurally capped on resale-home acquisition growth. The build-to-rent pivot that these firms began before the bill passed is now the only remaining growth channel.

South Florida’s Housing Wealth Is Now Formally Counted at $1.6 Trillion

MIAMI Realtors published its South Florida Real Estate and Rental Leasing Impact on Housing Wealth and the Economy report on July 8. The headline figure: the market value of 1.8 million owner-occupied or seasonally vacant homes across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie counties is $1.6 trillion as of May 2026. The average sales price is $893,900 — a 7.1% increase from December 2025 and 131% above December 2019.

This figure is not a price-per-unit statistic. It is an aggregate wealth figure. $1.6 trillion in residential housing wealth in five South Florida counties — representing 2.3 times the GDP of the same region. That wealth concentration supports an entire ecosystem: securities-backed lending, home equity credit facilities, estate planning, trust structures, insurance coverage, and the wealth management advisory relationships that serve the owners of that capital.

Miami ranks #4 in the US for highest down payment percentage among home buyers — 20% versus a national average of 15%, per Redfin data published this week. That figure reflects the cash-buyer density and UHNW concentration in the South Florida market. Buyers with 20% down are not first-time buyers stretching into affordability. They are investors and wealth holders making deliberate capital deployment decisions.

 

S. FL HOUSING WEALTH (MAY 2026) $1.6T 1.8M owner-occupied/vacation homes

S. FL AVG SALE PRICE $893,900 +131% vs Dec 2019

MIAMI BUYER DOWN PAYMENT AVG 20% vs 15% national average (Redfin)

ROAD TO HOUSING ACT DATE ENACTED July 11 12:01 AM — without presidential signature

 

RIA & WEALTH MANAGEMENT M&A

Steward Partners Discloses a $3.7 Billion Q2 — With Florida at the Center

Steward Partners announced its Q2 2026 results on July 13: six advisor teams joined the firm in May and June, representing approximately $3.68 billion in combined client assets. Two of the six teams have significant Florida exposure.

The headline addition is Zelniker Dorfman Private Wealth — an 11-person UBS team led by Scott Zelniker and Peter Dorfman, managing $2.4 billion in client assets. The team specializes in business owners navigating liquidity events, multi-generational families, professional athletes, entertainers, women investors, and a growing roster of gaming and content creator clients. It is Steward Partners’ largest wirehouse breakaway in its history by assets, and it joins with offices in both New York/Connecticut and along Florida’s East and Gulf Coasts.

Jazz Wealth ($469 million, Tampa Bay, FL) also joined Steward in Q2, confirmed in the July 13 release. The Wisdom Rock Financial Advisory Group ($504 million, NY), Jeff Seitz ($115 million, WA), Ali Geranmayeh ($36 million, NY), and Blake Cason ($152 million, NC) round out the quarter’s additions. The Q2 haul brings Steward Partners to over $52 billion in total client assets.

The Zelniker Dorfman team profile is particularly significant for Florida. A practice that serves business owners navigating liquidity events and multigenerational families — with Florida Coast offices alongside Northeast infrastructure — is precisely the team profile that captures the most valuable wealth transition activity in the state: business-owner liquidity events in Florida’s growing mid-market, UHNW multigenerational client families, and the sports and entertainment wealth that concentrates in South Florida around the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS franchises headquartered or playing there.

Maridea Wealth Enters Florida with Daytona Beach Acquisition

Maridea Wealth Management — a Brooklyn-based RIA founded in 2023, now managing approximately $1 billion across eight offices — acquired Ashford Investment Advisors, a Daytona Beach, Florida-based firm with approximately $180 million in assets under advisement and management. The deal is Maridea’s first Florida location and its third acquisition of 2026. Ashford is led by Kathleen Dulko, who acquired the practice from her parents and the firm’s founders, Mike and Sue Walsh.

The Daytona Beach location is notable for its geography. Daytona Beach is not a UHNW concentration market in the way that Miami, Palm Beach, or Naples are. But it is a mid-Florida coastal market with a stable professional client base, low competitive intensity from national platforms, and a succession situation — a founder’s daughter taking over a multi-decade community practice — that exactly mirrors the succession-driven acquisition opportunity FLOW has documented across Florida’s secondary markets for three months. Maridea’s founder explicitly cited the goal of partnering with more women-led firms as a strategic thesis. Daytona Beach is the first result.

The Bifurcation in Florida’s Advisory M&A Market Is Now Fully Visible

This week’s deals allow a clean articulation of the two-speed Florida RIA acquisition market that has been developing throughout 2026. At the top: Steward Partners, Modern Wealth, Corient, and Creative Planning are competing for $500M–2B+ practices with institutional infrastructure, specialized niches, and platforms that can justify premium multiples in a range of 11–16x EBITDA. At the second tier: Maridea, Arax, and similar emerging aggregators are acquiring $100M–$500M practices — often succession-driven, often in secondary Florida markets, often family-run — at lower but still historically elevated multiples.

Both segments are active simultaneously. Florida principals at all size brackets are receiving inbound acquisition interest. The principals who understand which buyer profile matches their size, client base, and succession timeline are negotiating from strength. Those who have not assessed their options are negotiating from the first call they receive.

BANKING / INSURANCE / PRIVATE CREDIT

The ROAD to Housing Act’s Credit Market Implications Are Now Real, Not Hypothetical

The housing bill’s enactment resolves three weeks of constitutional speculation and converts the institutional SFR restriction from a policy proposal into operational reality. The credit market implications are now executable.

For Florida’s private credit ecosystem, the most direct effect is on construction lending. The cap on institutional SFR resale-home purchases removes the largest competing demand for single-family existing inventory in Florida’s Sunbelt metros. That removes one category of borrower from the resale acquisition credit market — but it accelerates a different category: build-to-rent construction loans. Institutional landlords pivoting to BTR development are now the primary large-ticket construction lending opportunity in Florida’s single-family segment.

The law’s environmental review streamlining provisions and zoning reform grants could, over a 12–24 month implementation window, accelerate the permitting of new housing in Florida’s supply-constrained coastal markets. If that happens, construction lending volume in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach will increase — driven by developers who can now get projects through the permitting process faster. Florida’s non-bank construction lenders, who have dominated the large-ticket segment while banks remained cautious, are positioned to capture that incremental deal flow before the regulatory credit rule changes narrow their pricing advantage.

South Florida’s Real Estate Market Is Bifurcating — and Both Tracks Matter for Credit

The $1.6 trillion MIAMI Realtors figure and the broader Florida housing market data present an apparent contradiction worth resolving. Zillow’s Florida median home price: $378,126, down 2.8% year-over-year. MIAMI Realtors’ South Florida aggregate housing wealth: $1.6 trillion, average sales price $893,900, up 7.1% since December 2025.

The contradiction is geographic and price-tier. The statewide Zillow figure captures suburban, rate-sensitive, insurance-stressed Florida markets — Broward County starter homes, Central Florida condo inventory, Tampa Bay mid-tier condominiums facing insurance cost pressure. The MIAMI Realtors figure captures the South Florida luxury and ultra-luxury market, driven by cash buyers, international capital, and the wealth migration that FLOW has documented all year. Both are real. The relevant question for credit managers is which segment a specific collateral pool belongs to. The underwriting assumptions for a $2M Coconut Grove condo and a $400K Broward County townhouse are structurally different assets in structurally different markets, and the default rate implications for each are correspondingly different.

INSTITUTIONAL & ALLOCATOR MOVES

The Housing Law and Florida Property Tax Amendment Are Now in the Same Analytical Frame

Florida is now the only major state in the country with two simultaneous, concurrent housing policy developments reshaping the real estate landscape: the ROAD to Housing Act (now federal law) and the $250,000 homestead exemption amendment (on the November ballot).

These two policies are moving in structurally different directions. The federal law increases housing supply by streamlining permitting, incentivizing new construction, and redirecting institutional capital from resale-home acquisition to build-to-rent development. The Florida amendment, if passed, reduces the holding cost of primary residences — boosting demand at the ownership level while potentially reducing local government revenue available to fund the infrastructure that supports new construction.

For institutional allocators with Florida real estate exposure, the interaction effect between these two policies is the most important analytical question of the next six months. A federal law that accelerates housing supply in Florida, combined with a state amendment that increases primary homeowner demand, could produce a meaningful supply-demand balance shift in the 24–48 month window after both policies take effect. Managers underwriting Florida multifamily, build-to-rent, and residential land positions should be modeling both scenarios now: passage and failure of the state amendment, against the implementation timeline of the federal law.

Venezuela Earthquake Capital Migration Continues to Unfold

The Venezuela earthquake death toll has now surpassed 3,000, with the UNDP maintaining its $6.7 billion direct economic loss estimate. Miami continues to serve as the primary US hub for diaspora coordination, aid logistics, and UHNW financial management for affected clients.

OFAC’s General License 60 — authorizing relief-related transactions through October 23, 2026 — remains the critical compliance instrument for Miami firms. The longer-duration implication: Venezuelan UHNW principals who have been managing bifurcated US-Venezuela financial structures are now consolidating toward US-managed assets at an accelerated pace. The capital migration that has been underway for years is compressing in timeline. Miami-based wealth managers, trust attorneys, and private bankers serving this community will see elevated demand for US custodial structures, US trust documentation, and US estate planning through the end of 2026.

Boca Raton Home Sets South Florida Record at $24 Million

The top South Florida residential transaction of the week was a Boca Raton home at 1992 Royal Palm Way that sold for $24 million. The buyers were John and Kathleen Slavik; the seller was a trust attached to Sheetz founder Robert G. Sheetz. The home measures 6,100 square feet — placing the deal at approximately $3,900 per square foot, a Boca Raton record.

A Coconut Grove condo at 2655 South Bayshore Drive changed hands for $12.5 million, or approximately $2,600 per square foot. The seller had purchased the property in 2024 for $8.8 million, realizing a 42% return in two years. Both transactions confirm that South Florida’s collateral base for UHNW credit facilities continues to reprice upward — the properties that have underwritten the most sophisticated securities-backed lending structures in the market are appreciating, not stabilizing.

DEAL RADAR

 

DEAL / MOVE	DETAIL
ROAD to Housing Act — enacted July 11, 2026	12:01 AM, without presidential signature · Institutional SFR cap: 350+ home entities banned from resale purchases · Build-to-rent exempted (7-yr sell rule) · Permitting streamlining + zoning grants included · First major federal housing law since 1990s
Steward Partners Q2 2026: $3.68B added	6 teams · July 13, 2026 · Steward now $52B+ in assets · FL-involved teams: Zelniker Dorfman ($2.4B, NY/FL) and Jazz Wealth ($469M, Tampa Bay)
Zelniker Dorfman Private Wealth → Steward (UBS breakaway)	$2.4B AUM · 11-person team, 6 advisors · NY/CT + Florida East and Gulf Coast offices · Steward’s largest wirehouse breakaway in firm history · Business owners, multigen families, athletes, entertainers
Maridea Wealth → Ashford Investment Advisors (Daytona Beach)	$180M AUM · Maridea’s 1st Florida office · Women-led succession practice · Founder Kathleen Dulko acquires from parents · June 22, 2026 · 3rd Maridea deal of 2026
South Florida housing wealth: $1.6T (MIAMI Realtors, July 8)	1.8M owner-occupied/vacation homes · Avg sale price $893,900 · +131% vs Dec 2019 · 2.3x regional GDP · $8.9B annual property taxes paid
Boca Raton record sale: $24M	1992 Royal Palm Way · Sheetz founder trust sells to John and Kathleen Slavik · 6,100 sqft · ~$3,900/sqft · Boca Raton record
Coconut Grove condo: $12.5M ($2,600/sqft)	2655 South Bayshore Drive · Seller paid $8.8M in 2024 · 42% return in 2 years · Confirms continued luxury collateral appreciation
Venezuela earthquake death toll surpasses 3,000	OFAC GL 60 active through Oct 23, 2026 · Miami wealth managers serving Venezuelan clients: elevated demand for US custodial/trust/estate structures through year-end
Florida homestead tax amendment — November ballot	$250K exemption would take effect Jan 2027 if approved · Oct–Dec 2026 domicile window for UHNW principals remains open · Federal ROAD Act + FL amendment now in same analytical frame
Miami buyer down-payment: 20% avg (Redfin)	vs 15% national avg · Reflects cash-buyer and UHNW concentration · Published July 10 · Confirms demand quality in luxury and UHNW segments

 

3 STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FOR MANAGERS

01  The Housing Law’s Florida Impact Is a Two-Speed Story — and Most Managers Are Only Watching One Speed

The most commonly discussed implication of the ROAD to Housing Act is the institutional SFR cap: large landlords can’t buy more resale homes. That’s real and important. But the law’s environmental review streamlining and zoning reform grants are equally significant for Florida, and almost no one is discussing them. These provisions directly address the permitting bottleneck that has constrained new housing supply in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach for years. If they accelerate the permitting process for new residential development — as designed — they will generate incremental construction lending demand in Florida within 12-24 months. The credit managers, developers, and land bankers who begin positioning for that incremental supply now — before the permitting acceleration is visible in the data — will capture the early-mover advantage in a market that will be more competitive 18 months from now.

02  Steward Partners’ Q2 Is a Blueprint for How Florida Wealth Management Deals Get Done at Scale

Steward Partners added $3.68 billion in Q2 through six teams — not through acquisitions at premium EBITDA multiples, but through its Legacy Channel partnership model: teams join as W-2 employees, keep their brand identity, and plug into Steward’s national infrastructure. The Zelniker Dorfman team specifically cited the desire to maintain brand continuity and plan for generational transition within their own practice as the deciding factors. For Florida advisory firm principals evaluating their options, the Steward model represents something distinct from the PE-backed rollup exit: a path to independence and succession planning that doesn’t require a full sale and doesn’t require the principal to become an employee of a platform they don’t control. The growth of this model — alongside the acquisition model — means Florida principals now have genuinely different strategic alternatives, not just multiple versions of the same transaction.

03  South Florida’s $1.6 Trillion Housing Wealth Number Is the Most Important Allocator Context Statistic of the Year

MIAMI Realtors’ $1.6 trillion figure deserves to sit alongside the $657 billion billionaire wealth figure (BRG International, published in May) in every allocator pitch deck and every LP development conversation for Florida-based managers. Together, these two numbers define the scale of the capital base that is physically present in South Florida and actively seeking the advisory, credit, investment management, and alternative investment infrastructure to manage it. $657 billion in declared billionaire wealth. $1.6 trillion in residential housing wealth. Both concentrated in five counties. Both generating wealth management demand, estate planning demand, credit facility demand, and alternative investment LP demand at a scale that no other US market outside New York and California can match. And both numbers are still growing. The managers who are building Florida client and LP infrastructure now are building toward a market that is measurably larger every quarter.

About this report: This weekly summary highlights major deals, adviser moves, policy developments and market data for Florida’s wealth‑management and insurance sectors. For questions or media inquiries, please contact the author.