Brazilian buyers are back to being the biggest foreign players in Miami’s property market.
Investors from the South American country have historically led demand for the city’s real estate, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. Last year, though, Colombian house-hunters overtook Brazilian buyers to become the dominant foreign force. Russian and Turkish buyers have also notably stepped up their interest.
In 2017, though, Brazil is once more the top foreign country searching for Miami real estate on the official Realtor site, up from second in January 2017 to first in February.
Venezuela and Colombia finished second and third, respectively. Russia, which led the rankings in November and December, had the fifth-most web searches. Mexico makes its first appearance in the Top 10 since it took No. 10 in May 2016.
“Brazilians and South Americans have long been drawn to Miami and our global city,” says Christopher Zoller, the 2017 MIAMI chairman of the board. “But what’s interesting about the February 2017 search rankings is its continental diversity. South America, North America, Asia and Europe are all represented, and that’s reflective of the diversification of Miami real estate buyers.”
Wealthy Turkish buyers turn to Miami
23rd August 2016
Wealthy Turkish buyers are increasingly turning to Miami’s property market as a place to invest.
Miami has traditionally been a hub for Latin American buyers, with Brazil dominating foreign investment in the market. At the end of 2015, the Miami Association of Realtors found that Colombian house-hunters overtook Brazilian buyers on its property portal. Now, though, there are more surprising new contenders in town: investors from Turkey.
“We’d hardly get interest, let alone any sales [in 2014,” Edgardo Defortuna, a developer and founder of Fortune International Group, tells the Wall Street Journal. In July 2016, though, the company saw a “sharp uptick” in visitors from Turkey, with three units at the Ritz Carlton Residences Sunny Isles Beach sold off-plan to Turkish buyers for around $4 million apiece.
Luxury agency Luxury Portfolio also reports a 58 per cent increase year-on-year in web traffic from Turkey in June 2016.
Estate agents say that around 10,000 Turks live in the city part-time, with buyers typically searching for large beachfront units for their extended family and for stable investments away from their home country and their traditional favourites of South France and London.
They may not be rivalling Brazilians any time soon, but buyers from Turkey are now taking up around 5 per cent of off-plan sales, according to high-end developers.
Turkish developers are also injecting money into Miami, with Istanbul-based Suzer Group partnering with ASRR Capital to buy a roughly one-acre oceanfront property for $41 million in 2015.
As a result, a growing number of estate agencies are opening branches Miami and Turkish Airlines has now introduced a direct route to and from Istanbul every day.
Colombian buyers overtake Brazilians in Miami property hunt
26th February 2016
Colombian buyers have overtaken Brazilians in the hunt for Miami real estate.
Brazil has been the dominant foreign player in the market for some time, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. The country ranked as the top overseas nation using their search portal, Miamire.com, for 17 of the past 18 months. In fact, there have only been three months when Brazil has not led search activity since June 2014.
In December 2015, though, that all changed, as Colombians logged the most searches for property, beating out Brazil to the top spot for just the fourth time in 20 months.
“Colombian home buyers have long sought South Florida real estate,” says Mark Sadek, the 2016 MIAMI Chairman of the Board. “Miami’s tropical climate, global business center, world-class shopping and history of multiculturalism are just a few reasons why Colombians and all international home buyers continue buying local properties.”
Colombian home buyers tied with Argentinians in purchasing the third most Miami real estate among foreign countries, according to the 2015 Profile of International Home Buyers in Miami Association of Realtors Business Areas. Colombia registered 10 per cent of all foreign Miami deals, with only Venezuelan (13 per cent) and Brazil (12 per cent) purchasing more.
What kind of Colombians are buying property in Miami? According to Realtors, they tend to be upper-middle-class families, spending an average of $516,000 on a home – the same as those from Argentina and lower than the $766,000 spent by Brazilians.
Colombians are not the only ones stepping up their interest in the area, though, with both buyers from the Philippines and Spain accounting for more searches; The Philippines’ fifth-place finish among Miamire.com foreign visitors was the country’s highest ever, while Spain’s sixth place was its best ranking since 2013.
Within the US, there was a similar upset, as Texas toppled California from the number one slot for the first time, ending a 13-month streak.
Google+
