Brazil leads foreign demand for miami property

Brickell Skyline - Miami, Florida Photo: Adam Mizrahi

Miami remains one of the most popular US markets for international investors - and Brazil is leading the way.

Figures from the Miami Association of Realtors show that the South American country led global consumers using the association's search portal in April 2015 for the 11th month in a row.

Brazil has been the top foreign country searching for Miami properties in 13 of the last 15 months, with the last time Brazil didn't dominate demand occuring in May 2014, thanks to a rise in demand from Columbia.

The figures arrive despite rising Chinese interest in US real estate. Indeed, recent national figures from the National Association of Realtors found that Chinese buyers were the biggest spenders on American property.

Brazilians spend the most on South Florida properties among foreign consumers, paying an average of $495,000. On average, Miami’s international buyers paid $444,000 per purchase, compared to $245,000 statewide.

"Brazilians moving to South Florida are often upper-middle-class families who want to enjoy their prosperity earned in their homeland as professionals and entrepreneurs," explains the Miami group.

In 2014, Brazilians registered 11 percent of all South Florida international real estate deals, according to a report conducted by the National Association of Realtors for Miami. Brazil had the third-most property transactions in Miami and Broward Counties among all global consumers last year, trailing only Venezuela (16 per cent) and Argentina (12 per cent).

Colombia, meanwhile, finished with the second-most web hits on Miamire.com in April 2015 for the fourth consecutive month. Canada moved ahead of Venezuela to finish in third place for the month.

Tightening inventory continued to impact Florida’s housing market in May, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors. Realtors across the state reported rising median prices and fewer days on market for both existing single-family homes and for townhouse-condo properties.

Closed sales of existing single-family homes statewide totaled 24,789 last month, up 7.7 per cent over May 2014. Median sales prices for both single-family homes and townhouse-condo properties rose year-over-year for the 42nd month in a row.