Foreign Buyers in Miami Propelled by the World Cup

The excitement of the World Cup is helping fuel condo sales to foreign buyers, particularly from Latin America, brokers and developers say.

It’s coming at a good time for the residential real estate industry, right when the market is slowing.

Daniel Ickowicz, who leads the Aventura-based brokerage firm Elite International Realty, represented one of his clients, a buyer from Brazil, in the purchase of a unit at Domus Brickell Park, a short-term rental friendly condo project being developed by North Development, a venture led by Ricardo Dunin’s Oak Capital and Juan Carlos Tassara’s Edifica.

The deal was sweetened by a few things: The developers offered a pair of tickets to the World Cup to buyers who signed contracts at the project, and the brokerage’s partnership with Latam Airlines incentivized the deal with airline miles.

While the World Cup isn’t causing a massive wave of investment in South Florida real estate, it is helping brokers sell Miami. Like Art Basel, Formula 1, the Miami Open and other major events, the industry plans to capitalize on who’s in town during the World Cup. The city is hosting seven FIFA World Cup 2026 matches at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

“Did he buy just because of the World Cup? No. Did it accelerate his decision? Yes,” Ickowicz said. Many of his clients are interested in short-term condo buildings because the income can help offset their expenses. They’re not necessarily looking to make huge profits, he said.

Ickowicz and his agents travel frequently to Brazil where they meet with repeat customers and people looking to invest in the U.S. for the first time.

“Now we’re going to secondary and tertiary markets in Brazil, where people raise their hands and say, ‘How can I legally send money to the US?’” Ickowicz said.

The weakness of the dollar has helped fuel the uptick in international demand, said Fernando de Núñez y Lugones, CEO and partner of Vertical Developments. His projects include the planned Elle Residences in Edgewater.

Buyers from Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Mexico are still strong buyer pools in Miami. Edgardo Defortuna, who is from Argentina, said demand from Latin America is still strong, combined with domestic demand. His firm, Fortune International Group, is hosting watch parties at sales centers to capture foreign buyers in town for the World Cup.

“Between games, three or four days go by, so they have a lot of time on their hands and aren’t going back to their home country,” Defortuna said.

A report released late last year found that foreign buyers made up more than half of new development condo sales across 66 condo projects in South Florida. The report, which covered sales data for the nearly two-year period from January 2024 through October 2025, found that Latin American buyers accounted for 86 percent of foreign buyers during that period. The top countries represented by foreign purchases were Colombia, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, interest continues from the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany, brokers and developers said.

At Surf Row, a 24-unit luxury condo building planned for the non-waterfront side of Collins Avenue in Surfside, several buyers from the U.K. have purchased units, including three from the upscale Mayfair neighborhood in London, according to Daniel de la Vega, president and CEO of One Sotheby’s International Realty. That’s partially a response to hosting events in London.

The project, developed by LD&D and One Capital, is nearly 50 percent presold, with prices averaging $2,000 per square foot, according to the developer.

Other developments have reported sales to London buyers over the past year, including Mast Capital’s the Perigon in Miami Beach and Cipriani Residences Miami in Brickell.

Mike Matirena of the Ivan & Mike Team at Compass, said the World Cup is “one thousand percent” resulting in deals. Developers are hosting watch parties, but Matirena said he’s “surprised the developers haven’t done crazy incentive packages.” Interest in Miami has continued since F1’s Miami Grand Prix in early May.

“I have clients from the U.K., Madrid and Germany. They’re using that reason to come to Miami in the summertime because they think it’s slower,” he said.