International Home Buying!
Miami continues to be one of the world’s top destinations for international home buyers. More than half of all international home sales in the entire state of Florida happen in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach.
About 80 percent of all South Florida international home sales take place in Miami-Dade County, according to the new MIAMI and NAR report. The report showed a foreign buyer sales volume for the following counties: Broward (16.4 percent), Palm Beach (3.0 percent) and Martin (.4 percent). Foreign buyers purchased $6.2 billion of South Florida residential properties in 2016, up from $6.1 billion 2 years ago, according to the MIAMI and NAR report. International unit sales also increased to 24 percent of total sales in South Florida, up from 22 percent in 2015.
Top Countries Investing in South Florida
The countries of origin for consumers purchasing properties in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Martin counties are:
1. Venezuela (15 percent of South Florida foreign purchases)
2. Argentina (11 percent)
3. Brazil and Colombia (10 percent each)
4. Canada (6 percent)
5. Mexico, France & Peru (4 percent each)
The top tier countries of origin — Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Canada, Mexico, France and Peru — account for 64 percent of total South Florida international closed sales.
By dollar volume, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and Colombia accounted for nearly half of the $6.2 billion of South Florida international home sales in 2016. Venezuelan and Brazilian buyers topped the list with $868 million and $861 million in sales volume, respectively.
The top tier of countries continues with each at 3 percent of international sales:
- Italy
- Ecuador
- China
- Dominican Republic
- United Kingdom
Next tier countries of origin are: Spain, Germany, Australia, Honduras, South Korea, Russia, India, Costa Rica, Japan, Malaysia, Chile, Panama, Nicaragua and Portugal.
Top Countries by County
The top countries of origin for consumers purchasing properties in Miami-Dade are:
1. Venezuela (17 percent)
2. Brazil (15 percent)
3. Argentina (14 percent
4. Colombia (8 percent)
5. Italy, Mexico & Canada (4 percent each)
Other top countries include Canada, France, China, the Dominican Republic and Peru.
The top countries of origin for consumers buying real estate in Broward County are:
1. Venezuela (18 percent)
2. Colombia (17 percent)
3. Canada (13 percent)
4. Argentina (12 percent)
5. Brazil (10 percent)
The top countries of origin for consumers buying real estate in Palm Beach County are:
1. Canada (30 percent)
2. Venezuela (9 percent)
3. Brazil, Germany & Italy (7 percent each)
4. Argentina, Colombia, Ireland & Russia (4 percent each)
The top countries of origin for consumers buying real estate in Martin County are:
1. Canada (21 percent)
2. Australia & Brazil (13 percent)
3. Germany & Venezuela (8 percent each)
Additional Survey Highlights
Foreign home buyers spend more on average on real estate than other buyers, and MIAMI real estate buyers spend even more on average than other international buyers in the state of Florida or nationally.
South Florida international home buyers paid $570,000 on average for residential properties. In comparison, all MIAMI buyers spend $352,900 on average. Foreign buyers of Florida Realtors members spend $412,100 on average, while foreign buyers in the U.S. spend $477,500 on average.
Miami has about double the number of all-cash buyers than the national average. International home buyers in South Florida comprise an even larger percentage of all-cash buyers. According to the new MIAMI and NAR survey, about 72 percent of all international residential transactions in South Florida were made in all-cash.
South Florida international home buyers prefer condominiums (55 percent) in the central/urban areas (58 percent), which they intend to use mainly as residential rental, vacation home or both (75 percent).
About 5.5 percent of South Florida foreign buyers purchased local homes without even visiting Florida. About 19.7 percent purchased with just one visit to Florida; 25.4 percent purchased with just two visits; 22.1 percent bought after visiting Florida three times.
South Florida international buyers purchased 10,885 residential properties in 2016 compared to 10,678 the year before, a 1.93 percent increase.
About 70 percent of MIAMI members work with international buyers. That’s more than double the national figure of 31 percent, according to NAR.
Survey results reflect MIAMI’s commitment to increasing South Florida’s real estate brand worldwide and the Miami real estate market’s position as a top international destination.
