Miami Association of Realtors heads to China

A 2011 photo of downtown Miami's skyline (Credit: Lonny Paul) and the Chinese flag (Credit: Daderot)
A 2011 photo of downtown Miami's skyline (Credit: Lonny Paul) and the Chinese flag (Credit: Daderot)

In a bid to reel in more business from China, the Miami Association of Realtors is gearing up to send a handful of delegates this week to a luxury property showcase in Shanghai.

Eight agents, plus the association’s CEO, will fly to China for the three-day LPS Shanghai event, which is expected to draw a crowd of 5,000 wealthy buyers and investors.

The show starts on Friday and ends Sunday. It will be hosted at the Shanghai Marriott City Centre, a 37-story hotel with 21,528 square feet of conference space.

An association spokesperson said the Miami envoy group will set up a single booth, complete with pamphlets explaining the local market in simplified Chinese. The agents there will also be free to promote any personal projects, as well.

This is the second time in 2015 that the Miami association has sent members to a luxury property showcase in China. Though buyers from across the Pacific have yet to hit South Florida en masse — China accounted for only 2 percent of international sales last year locally — the country has piqued Miami’s interest as a feeder market with great potential.

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Nationally, Chinese buyers took up the largest share of foreigners buying homes in the U.S. from March 2014 to March 2015.

“Access to quality education and clean air are top priorities for Chinese buyers, and Miami real estate offers some of the cleanest air and best schools in the United States,” Teresa King Kinney, the association’s CEO, said in a statement.

Heres a list of the delegates and their brokerages:

  • Indra Ragbir, The Keyes Company
  • Haimnath Ragbir, The Keyes Company
  • Antonio Hinojosa, Coast To Coast International
  • Renée M. Grossman, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
  • Dorothea Lantz, ONE Sotheby’s International Realty
  • Larry Shinbaum, Decorus Realty
  • Adrian Burke, Keller Williams Miami Beach
  • Fei Fei Goldman, Douglas Elliman Real Estate
  • Teresa King Kinney, CEO of Miami Association of Realtors

– Sean Stewart-Muniz