South Florida is the most-searched U.S. market by international consumers, and Canadians are the ones most interested in the locale, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. The Miami metro area, including Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, came in as the No. 1 U.S. market for international consumers in January 2017. Miami has ranked No. 1 in 12 of the past 14 months.
A closer look
South Florida has ranked as a top-five market for buyers in nine of the world’s ten-largest regions, ranking No. 1 for the most searched market in four: the Caribbean, South America, Southern Europe and Western Asia.
Canada has produced the most searches since the association began keeping track monthly in May 2013, and again came on top in the latest ranking. The association’s ranking only looked at Miami property searches by country, but those searches do translate into sales.
Canadian buyers purchase the fifth-most South Florida real estate among all international consumers, according to the association. They had a 6 percent share of all international purchases in South Florida. Venezuela came in first with 15 percent, followed by Argentina (11 percent), Brazil and Colombia (10 percent).
Canada is also the top country purchasing residential property in Palm Beach County — bringing in 30 percent — and Martin County, where Canadians accounted for 21 percent of all international purchases. It also held the second-highest average purchase price among South Florida international clients at $646,000, and Brazil had the highest at $775,000, according to the 2016 report.
Another country that has made a mark on the Miami market is Turkey. This global hub entered the top 10 for the first time, posting No. 7 for the most searches. Usually Miami’s pool of popular buyers comes from Latin America and Europe; this was the first time a Middle Eastern country was listed among the report’s top 10, says the Miami Herald. There has been an increase in residential and commercial investments from the Middle East to Miami, a total of $517 million between January and June 2016, making it the largest most popular global market for Middle Eastern investment and the tenth most popular in the U.S. at the time.