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Miami Turns East But South is Still King

Miami realtors are stepping up efforts to lure Chinese buyers, but South Americans remain their top foreign clients

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Miami is increasing efforts to entice property buyers from China.

Getty Images
Miami is increasing efforts to entice property buyers from China.
Getty Images

Much has been said lately about Latin Americans’ diminishing purchasing power in the United States due to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar and negative economic conditions in their home region. Still, when it comes to Florida, South Americans continue to top the list of potential foreign buyers searching online for real estate. The Miami Association of Realtors reported this week that for 12 months in a row, Brazil was the number one country visiting its site in May 2015. Colombia finished with the second-most traffic to Miamire.com for the fifth consecutive month, while Canada ranked third, Venezuela fourth and Argentina fifth. China, identified as an “emerging market” this year by the association and a country the 23,000-realtor group is currently focusing on, is nowhere to be seen in the ranking. More: Unique Amenities Abound in Miami's Luxury Condo Market Teresa King Kinney, CEO of the association, said that one of the main reasons behind the absence of China is the misconception that searches on Miamire.com are only available in English. In fact, said King Kinney, visitors to the website can search for properties in 19 different languages, including Mandarin, Hindi and Korean. Rising interest in Chinese consumers is due to the fact that in the past year China overtook Canada to become the largest country of origin for international homebuyers in the U.S. in terms of number of units purchased and dollar volume. Chinese buyers spent $28.6 billion on U.S. real estate for the 12 months ending in March 2015, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The amount is 30% higher than the year before and up nearly 700% since 2009.

Florida accounts for 21% of all international home sales in the U.S., more than any other state. However, Chinese buyers still favor the west coast, including cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, for their geographical proximity to China, and educational, business and trade opportunities, according to NAR. Only 3% of Chinese buyers bought properties in Florida between April 2014 and March 2015; in contrast, 35% purchased homes in California. Representatives from the Miami association attended the Beijing Luxury Property Show for the first time in April to pitch South Florida properties to Chinese investors. Now, the association hopes to attract a sizeable delegation of brokers from China to its International Real Estate Congress, which takes place in November in Miami and San Diego. More: Renderings to Reality: A Modern Mansion in Miami Beach Even though few Chinese buyers are currently searching for real estate in Miami, brokers aren’t discouraged; efforts to lure new markets can be long-term projects. Ten years ago, the Miami association identified France as an emerging market. In May 2015, France was 10th among countries visiting Miamire.com, said King Kinney. The association doesn’t plan to neglect its main customers. “We will never turn our back on our top markets,” said King Kinney in reference to South Americans, adding that over a third of her group’s more than 100 partner associations come from Latin America. After all, Latin America is the number one region for foreign clients purchasing in Florida, accounting for 35% of transactions in the 12 months ending in March 2015, according to the NAR. Have an update for Mansion Global? Write to us at info@mansionglobal.com