Colombians Continue To Be Foreigners Most Interested in Southern Florida Real Estate

For the seventh straight month, Colombians are the foreigners more interested in buying real estate in Southern Florida, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. People from Colombia topped the list of property searchers on the organization’s website in June, followed by those from Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina.

When it comes to Colombians buying property in the area — which includes Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach — those from the nation ranked third last year, per a study by the organization. Overall, they accounted for some 10% of all transactions for Southern Florida real estate made by foreigners, spending an average of $516,000 per deal. This purchase price left Colombians tied with Argentines for the second highest average. The two trailed only buyers from Brazil, who spent a whopping $766,000 USD per sale.

“Miami has long attracted buyers from South America, but now we’re seeing a greater array of countries searching and buying our properties,” Mark Sadek, current chairman of the board for the Miami Association of Realtors. “They’re coming with their families. They’re coming with business plans. They’re coming as end users.”

According to the association, the Colombians buying real estate in Miami and the surrounding area are generally professionals and entrepreneurs from upper-middle-class families. The fall of the Colombian peso over the past two years — weakening from around 1,800 pesos to the dollar to 3,000 to the dollar — means that property values have skyrocketed, in relative terms, for anyone earning local currency. Still, there has been no drop off in Colombians buying expensive property.

Southern Florida was the most in-demand market among South Americans seeking property in the United States, according to research from Realtor.com. It was the second-most in-demand market overall for all foreigners after the Los Angeles metro area.

In addition to Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina, the top 10 list of those interested in Southern Florida property in June was rounded out by Canada, Spain, India, France, the United Kingdom, and Philippines.