The Real Deal and Artefacto’s Fisher Island soiree: PHOTOS

Much is said of the wealthy elite snapping up luxury real estate in Miami. But whether they’re financial bigwigs from the Northeastern United States or titans of industry from Latin America, they’re united by two major themes: the size of their checkbooks and their penchant for traveling the globe.

The Real Deal and luxury design firm Artefacto recently partnered to host an intimate discussion at the Palazzo Del Sol project on Fisher Island to try to better define the concept of global citizens and their relationship to the real estate market.

The fête was held in unit 7081 at the newly opened building, which is decked out with Artefacto furnishings and is on the market for $17.4 million.

More than 30 top-producing agents and brokers showed up for a night of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a living room-style discussion with architect Kobi Karp, TRD publisher Amir Korangy and Artefacto CEO Paulo Bacchi.

“Miami was a rough jewel but it has such a strong history. If you look into Florida, whether it’s 1929 or the ’50s when Morris Lapidus did the Fontainebleau Hotel, you can see repetition of continuous growth and investment here in South Florida, particularly since the invention of the air conditioning unit,” Karp said.

Then art and culture followed, Karp said. The global citizen, he said, will always be attracted to Miami, and those markets shift, whether it’s Latin America, Turkey or China. Direct flights are key to attracting buyers from new markets, Karp added.