Brazil back on top for interest in Miami real estate

Brazil regained its status as the No. 1 country searching for South Florida real estate in August, according to a report released on Monday.

Brazil, which briefly had the second most consumers using the Miami Association of Realtors website in July, has led international interest in Miami real estate for 14 of the last 15 months.

“Miami’s world-class shopping venues, restaurants, and beaches have a unique appeal to not only Brazilian home buyers, but all consumers,” Christopher Zoller, the association’s 2015 residential president of Miami, said in a press release. “South Florida is known around the world for its multiculturalism and global business center, and this month’s website statistics display the strong international interest in local real estate.”

Brazilians purchase the third most real estate in South Florida among foreign buyers, with 11 percent of all sales in 2014, after Venezuela (16 percent) and Argentina (12 percent) according to the National Association of Realtors. They also spend the most on average in Miami-Dade and Broward: $495,000 compared to $245,000 among all buyers in Florida.

Other countries with growing interest in searching for South Florida residential real estate include Russia, Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina, in that order. Spain and Israel also made the list at No. 8 and 9, respectively. – Katherine Kallergis