Miami-based International Sales Group has named Liliana Gomez the firm’s new director of international sales, it announced today. [more]

Continuum

A unit at the Continuum condominium tower in South Beach has sold for $5.1 million, according to Majestic Properties, which handled the transaction. Majestic agent David Carolan closed the deal, which represented an average price of just under $1,700 per square foot. The buyer was a Brazilian businessman from Sao Paulo, according to Majestic. The sale is one of the highest prices ever paid per square foot for a non-penthouse unit at Continuum, which saw a $25 million condo sale earlier this year. — Alexander Britell

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors is now the official U.S. ambassador for the Brazilian Federal Council for Real Estate professionals, the Brazilian equivalent of the National Association of Realtors. The COFECI is the largest professional trade organization for realtors in Brazil, with more than 250,000 members, and the largest real estate organization in Latin America. According to GFLR President Stephen McWilliam, the group is working with COFECI to bring membership standards and practices that are similar to those in the United States. GFLR will also be working to link all of its MLS listings to the Brazilian marketplace through COFECI’s membership. — Alexander Britell

Eddy Martinez and the Apogee condominium

A unit at the Apogee condominium in South Beach has sold for $6.2 million, or around $1,500 per square foot, according to Eddy Martinez, broker and CEO at Worldwide Properties in Miami Beach. The 4,154-square-foot residence was unloaded by a Brazilian seller to a Brazilian investor in an all-cash deal. The buyer reportedly intends to completely remodel the unit. “South Florida is still proving to be an extremely desirable location for these investors from overseas, and many of them are paying cash in order to get the best value for their dollar,” Martinez said. The unit had been on the market for 74 days. — Alexander Britell

Daniel De La Vega

With Latin American buyers, particularly Brazilian ones, driving Miami’s condo surge, Miami brokers are continuing to focus their attention on that market. Daniel De La Vega, managing partner at One Sotheby’s International Realty, said he had traveled to Brazil four times in recent months to host “Miami Week,” an expo explaining U.S. real estate transactions. ”Our various trips down to Brazil have proven to be a success,” he said. It’s the latest effort by South Florida brokers south of the Equator. [more]

Claudio Cury, the newly-elected president of the more-than-300-member Brazil-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida, is seeking to increase trade and investment between Brazil and South Florida, largely in response to the recent boom of Brazilians buying real estate in South Florida, Miami Today reported. Brazilians made up 15 percent of all real estate acquisitions in Miami in 2011, according to a Miami Realtors Association survey, and brought the price of condos up nearly 50 percent from the 2009 bottom that same year. Brazil is second only to Venezuela among foreign buyers in Miami. “Miami is a major destination for a lot of Brazilians who come for vacation and for business. A lot of them end up moving here” Cury said. Cury will be hosting several galas this year aimed at building stronger ties between the two communities. [Miami Today]

As The Real Deal has long reported, Brazilians have been some of the key players in Miami’s recent condo boom, drawn by Miami prices that pale in comparison to those in cities like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. At the W South Beach, for example, Brazilians have purchased nearly half of the units, according to NBC’s Rock Center. They’ve even impacted the way developers sell their condos. See more in the video above. [NBC]

Indian buyers are beginning to scout Miami real estate

With Asian firms and individuals beginning to target Miami’s residential real estate sector, the next wave of interest could come from India. While its fellow BRICS (the emerging economic powerhouses of Brazil, Russia, India and China) have all shown interest, with Brazilians almost single-handedly saving Miami’s condo market, brokers say Indian buyers are beginning to trickle in. [more]

In a move that could boost Brazilians’ already-strong impact on South Florida real estate, the U.S. State Department has cut down the waiting time for obtaining visas in Brazil, the Sun Sentinel reported. With additional staff in place, it could take around two weeks for Brazilians to receive a visa, as opposed to as high as 100 days in some cases. As The Real Deal previously reported, a U.S. plan to waive visas for Brazilians would entice more buyers from the country, which already boasts a huge presence in South Florida’s residential real estate sector. [Sun Sentinel]

Downtown Miami

A total of 13.4 million people visited Miami last year, a new record for tourism in the city, the Miami Herald reported. That represented 6.7 percent increase over 2010, which was also a record. Brazil, whose citizens have helped to drive Miami’s condominium market, was the largest source of visitors to the county last year, with more than 634,000 visitors. [more]