Weekend Interview: Colliers South Florida Head Dustin Ballard On Why Companies Will Keep Relocating To Miami

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South Florida experienced a slow year for deals in 2024, particularly in the office and retail sectors, as the flow of people and businesses to the region lost some of its momentum.

But Dustin Ballard, who recently was tapped to head up Colliers' South Florida brokerage operations, said a comeback is around the corner, attributing the dip to election-year uncertainty.

“I know that there are conversations happening,” Ballard said. “With our polls that our professionals have on the market, there's conversations happening that point to some big news and new to market tenants in 2025 and probably 2026.”

Though new to the Colliers team, which he joined in June, Ballard brings 16 years of industry experience spanning South Florida, Nashville, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.

In August 2021, he moved from Silicon Valley to Palm Beach and took over as president and head of leasing at Miami-based Tricera Capital. He had been vice president and head of office leasing for Related Santa Clara and senior director of leasing for Hudson Pacific Properties in Los Angeles.

He moved from being an in-house leasing agent to Colliers after teaming with Colliers at his various stops across the country. Now he uses that experience to recruit and mentor his new Colliers team overseeing brokerage operations, recruitment, retention, regional growth and business development across South Florida, which he said is poised for an explosion.

“You look at all the major markets across the country, and what they have from infrastructure and higher education institutions tied to them. I think that West Palm and South Florida in general has all those pieces, and we're on the brink of seeing all those pieces come together.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Bisnow: You moved to South Florida from the Bay Area in August 2021, like so many other real estate and businesspeople. What drew you to the area? 

Dustin Ballard: The decision to move from Silicon Valley to South Florida was actually something that was in the works a couple of years before Covid was even a thought in anyone's mind for my wife, Danielle, and then my two kids, Chloe and Charlie. We started thinking about, as we were having kids, where we wanted to plant our flag and raise our family. Covid happened and that kind of accelerated the timeline for us. My wife's family is from North Palm Beach originally, so when they retired, they moved back. That's why we chose South Florida. So, it was more of a, “Let's put careers down on the priority list and prioritize family and quality of life.” It just so happened to be in an area that everyone was also moving to at the same time. 

Bisnow: Is there anything about living here or doing business in the market that you didn't expect going in? 

Ballard: It's been what I expected. If not, it's better than what I expected, just given the amount of growth and everything that's happening here in South Florida. The business that we're in. It's a people business, right? The longer you do it, the more relationships you have in different markets and across the country. I'm just very fortunate that I was able to kind of hit the ground running when we landed here and continue to build relationships in the network. 

Bisnow: What prompted the shift from working in-house as a landlord to taking over as market leader for a brokerage?

Ballard: So I've been on the ownership/principal side for most of my career, most of the 16 years. And I think the midsize, smaller, boutique private equity firms, real estate firms that exist, a lot of those firms were affected in various ways by the rising interest rate environment, and some of the macroeconomic factors. I think that it was just time to find what was next.

I've always leveraged third party service providers and brokers for their knowledge and just being the boots and eyes and ears on the ground in terms of leasing strategy. So, I've been a client of Colliers, whether it was in Silicon Valley or South Florida or even Nashville, some of the other markets across the country throughout the years. I was a huge believer in the culture and a lot of the brokerage professionals that we have in the different markets. So when the opportunity presented itself, and just having my past experiences having been great with Colliers, it just worked out. 

Bisnow: What would you say is something you and your brokers are discussing around the office a lot more at this moment than you were six months or a year ago?

Ballard: It's no secret that I think everybody's outlook is very optimistic and bullish heading into 2025. I think the conversations we're having primarily on the office leasing side, with brokerage professionals, my brokers here in South Florida, are the lack of supply and increasing demand. I think everyone thinks that that's going to continue in 2025.

I think there's a sense of relief that the election year is behind us now, and everybody can kind of get back to the business executing on their own business plans. And everyone's excited for that. So there's a tremendous amount of optimism and excitement as we kind of wrap up 2024 and head into 2025. I'm really looking forward to it, having a year where I can really continue to get my arms wrapped around our business here in South Florida.

Bisnow: Can you give me an example of one deal you worked on recently that you think is indicative of where the market is today and why?

Ballard: I'm on the management side, so I'm purely acting in a coach capacity. But, I will say, there's various teams throughout South Florida that have completed or executed a number of transactions. I think one that comes to mind right away is a deal that our top office leasing team just completed in Miami, in Coral Gables, hitting a $90 [per SF] rent, which is a new highwater mark for Coral Gables. I'm equally as excited about what's happening in Miami as what's happening in Palm Beach County. I've been telling the team, what's happening in Palm Beach County right now is, I do believe, that the county is on the brink of a Silicon Valley explosion.

You look at all the major markets across the country, and what they have from infrastructure and higher education institutions tied to them. I think that West Palm and South Florida in general has all those pieces, and we're on the brink of seeing all those pieces come together.

Bisnow: Miami and South Florida have been among the strongest office markets in the country, with vacancy far below the national average. But 2024 was a much slower year for leasing than 2023 and 2022. What do you attribute the slowdown to?

Ballard: I think a lot of it is attributed to the lack of supply, as evidenced by the vacancy rate. I think that supply has not been able to keep up with demand in a lot of ways. We're not immune to some of the macroeconomic factors that we've experienced over the last several months. I think you can probably attribute some of that slowdown to the election year and people wanting to kind of sit on the sidelines before making a decision.

I wouldn't read too much into it, because I think as we continue with companies rolling out return-to-office mandates, as evidenced by some of the largest corporations, the employers that we have in the U.S. are starting to roll out. I think that just all points to a positive future.

Bisnow: Are there signs that the market is picking back up? Particularly with new-to-market tenants, we haven't had many big announcements recently of companies opening up shop here. Has that momentum stalled, or are you still hearing of companies that are looking to open their first South Florida office soon?

Ballard: These things take time. These conversations take time. I think that there are conversations. I know that there are conversations happening. With our pulse that our professionals have on the market, there's conversations happening that point to some big news and new-to-market tenants in 2025 and probably 2026. So, I'm very bullish on the outlook and optimism.

Bisnow: As market leader, how have you navigated your team through the dip? What challenges do you face when brokers on your team are having a hard time making a living?

Ballard: I haven't been here long enough to understand any layoffs, that's not really in the cards right now. Our earnings releases point to a lot of positive metrics. When it comes to brokers, my role kind of plays a part in really just staying positive for them and reiterating the importance of sticking to your business plan, maybe modifying your business plan to evolve based on what's going on. It's really just staying positive with them and letting them know that they're going to continue to get the support and that I'm here to help. A big reason why I took this position was I genuinely love helping and mentoring. 

Just know that the commercial real estate environment, it's a cyclical business, just like anything else. It's going to come back.

Bisnow: What have you done to help younger brokers who might be struggling to land deals in a slow period to get them through?

Ballard: The first thing is you have to have and take the time and the energy to put together a very clear business plan. Be very disciplined and diligent in executing on that plan. I think the second thing is looking at your sphere of influence and who you're surrounding yourself with, make sure you're aligning yourself with, not only people within Colliers but outside of Colliers. I think also, for me, you look at placement of junior brokers, and you listen to what they want to focus on, and then you try to place them with a team or an individual that focuses on the areas that they want to focus on. 

I think it helps hearing other people's personal experiences too. I got into the business in 2007, right before the great financial crisis, and 2009 was a horrible year for a lot of people, but especially horrible for me, being someone with a year and a half of experience. So, the business is difficult. It always is going to be difficult, but just staying true to what you believe in and controlling your outside influences are critical to survival in this business.

Bisnow: A lot of people are expecting the market to pick back up this year. Are you looking to expand this year and hire more talent? 

Ballard: My top role and responsibility, and as the market leader and managing director for Colliers, is recruitment. So, we're taking a very strategic approach to who and how we bring on talent, but that's my No. 1 responsibility. We and I take a very strategic approach to how we're going to hire and who specifically based on stepping back and taking a holistic look at the brokerage service line as a whole.

Bisnow: How are you thinking about Colliers' growth in the market?

Ballard: The sky's the limit for us. In terms of growth, we have a great brand. We have great leadership. We have stability now in leadership positions. And I just think that we're very well-positioned to take advantage of a great market.

Bisnow: Give us a bold prediction for the year.

Ballard: We will double our revenue from 2024.

Bisnow: What is your weekend routine or favorite weekend activity?

Ballard: I don't think it's any secret to anyone that knows me that I love to play golf. I take great pride in honing my golf game. It's the one thing that I do for myself that keeps me that keeps me sane through the hustle and bustle. Obviously, I love spending time with my wife and kids, shuttling kids around to different sporting activities over the weekend, but golf is the greatest challenge for me. I love the grind of trying to perfect my golf game, and I love playing.