A report released Thursday showed that South Florida was very popular with international buyers in 2015. International house buyers made up a good chunk of all South Florida sales, the report said. They accounted for $6.1 billion or 36 percent of all South Florida home sales.
According to the Real Deal, international real estate buyers preferred Florida over other states. The Sunshine State led the US with 21 percent of the nation’s total foreign sales. Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Canada accounted for 62 percent of those sales, according to the 2015 Profile of International Home Buyers by the Miami Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. Not surprisingly, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami accounted for 50 percent of the foreign sales in Florida from September 2014 is August 2015.followed by 18 percent in Broward and 2.7 percent in Palm Beach. However based on monetary amounts, 79 percent of international sales in Florida were in Miami Dade county.
Foreign buyers South Florida spend more on properties than domestic buyers. Foreign buyers paid $590,000 on the average compared to $329,869 (average) and $215,000 (median) locally.
Miami Dade and South Florida also sees a huge amount of cash purchases from international buyers. In September, Miami-Dade county was the most cash-heavy market in the United States, according to the Real Deal. 50.8 percent were completed without financing, according to a new report from analytics firm CoreLogic, says the article.
Where are these international house buyers coming from?
The Real Deal broke down the top countries buying in Florida. Many are in South America, but Canada ranked fifth.
1.Venezuela
2. Brazil
3. Argentina
4. Colombia
5. Canada
6. Mexico
7. France and Italy
8. Ecuador
9. Spain
10. Russia
It is not surprising that international buyers would flock to Florida: it offers sunshine, fun, and cities full of culture. 71% bought their property for vacation purposes, and if you check out the beautiful properties available from RE/MAX Paradise you will see why!