Miami Elects Democrat as Mayor—Who Wants To Tackle Housing Affordability and High Property Taxes

Voters in Miami elected a Democratic mayor for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Democrat Eileen Higgins won Tuesday's election, defeating Republican Emilio Gonzalez, a former city manager who was backed by President Donald Trump.

Higgins, a former county commissioner, beat Gonzalez by nearly 20 points to become the first woman ever elected mayor of Miami and the first Democrat to hold the office in nearly 30 years.

"Tonight, the people of Miami made history. Together, we turned the page on years of chaos and corruption and opened the door to a new era for our city—one defined by ethical, accountable leadership that delivers real results for the people. I am deeply honored by the trust voters have placed in me to serve as the next Mayor of Miami," Higgins said in a Facebook post after becoming mayor-elect.

Higgins, 61, will take over a city facing affordability issues. Rents continue to skyrocket, affordable housing is unattainable for many residents, and Miami property taxes are among the highest in Miami-Dade County.

"This victory belongs to every resident who knocked on doors, gathered petitions, made phone calls, and believed that integrity and hard work could triumph over politics as usual," Higgins said in her post.

Property taxes

Miami tied for fifth among U.S. metros where property taxes rose the most. Property taxes in Miami rose 18.6% from 2021 ($3,011) to 2023 ($3,570), according to a LendingTree report.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing to eliminate property taxes on homeowners, arguing that the taxes are "oppressive and fuel wasteful spending by bloated local government."

According to the Realtor.com® economic research team, if property taxes were eliminated outright on owner-occupied homes in Florida, property values in the state would immediately jump by about 7% to 9%.

This would boost the aggregate value of Florida's owner-occupied housing stock by about $200 billion to $250 billion, creating an immediate windfall for current homeowners—but at the expense of future first-time buyers.

Mayor-elect Higgins has stated that to address the high cost of living in the city, the operating budget needs to be reduced and those savings could be passed along to property owners in the form of lower taxes.

During Higgins' campaign, she also said that most Miami families would benefit from an increase in the homestead exemption.

"We have to remember that 70% of the people who live in our city are renters, so only working on property taxes for homestead owners does not help people who are renters. We have got to make sure we are adding (affordable housing) units, particularly on city-owned land," Higgins said, according to WLRN.

Affordable housing

The mayor-elect also placed a focus on affordable housing—a problem that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic when people, especially from New York and California, moved to the area.

“We're facing unprecedented growth, which is a wonderful thing to have, but that means you need a mayor that is focused on the housing affordability crisis,” Higgins told USA Today.

The mayor-elect has proposed forming an affordable housing trust fund—a city-run savings account set aside to finance affordable housing projects, similar to the one created by the county government to support cost-burdened residents (those who spend at least 30% of their income on rent).

She's also pitched to voters that city-owned land could be turned into affordable housing. She gave an example of how the Miami Freedom Park soccer stadium project could have included housing on the land.

The city she's set to lead has topped the delistings list for the past five months due to falling demand for housing driven by property taxes, high interest rates, and rising insurance premiums, according to the Realtor.com November 2025 Monthly Housing Market Trends report.

In November, homes in the Miami metro spent 84 days on the market, the highest time among the nation's top metros.

Renter's reality

Miami has a strong local renter base—among the top five in the country—but it's also one of the least affordable top 50 metros for renters, with an October 2025 median asking rent for a 0-2 bedroom apartment coming in at $2,290.

Higgins, who served on the Miami-Dade County Commission prior to giving up her post to run for mayor, touted her service as a public servant who invested nearly $3 million in grants for small businesses and said she wants to create 7,000 affordable housing units.

She is also pushing to improve the transit system and cycling infrastructure to connect the various neighborhoods, which would help residents.

"We celebrate not just a victory, but a new beginning for Miami—a city that belongs to all of us, and a future we will build together," Higgins said on Facebook.