International Buyers Are Trickling Back to Miami

As travel restrictions lift, international buyers have begun to return to Miami’s luxury market, adding another layer to already red-hot demand in South Florida. The glittery multicultural city of Miami has been attracting international homebuyers for decades, but the pandemic put a temporary damper on foreign buyer activity that’s begun to reverse as travel restrictions ease up. Even during the tamped-down international buying market between April 2020 and March 2021, Florida attracted more foreign buyers than any other state for the 13th consecutive year, according to the National Association of Realtors’s 2021 Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate Report. Some 22% of all homes purchased by international buyers in the U.S. during that period were in Florida. Canadians and Brazilians, typically among the largest groups of Florida buyers, are anticipated to return to Miami within the next several months as travel restrictions are lifted Nearly half of foreign buyers in Florida (47%) chose the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area between August 2019 and July 2020, according to the 2020 Profile of International Residential Transactions in Florida report by the Florida Realtors Association. The top countries for foreign buyers in Florida were Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina and the U.K., but now agents report seeing buyers primarily from Mexico, Columbia and Peru. Political and economic circumstances in their home countries often drive home purchases in Miami. Miami buyers face limited inventory, particularly for single-family homes, which is anticipated to tighten even more as foreign buyers compete with domestic buyers. Some international buyers only want a single-family home on a large waterfront lot in a gated community, which can cost $10 million to $30 million if it’s got a big water view. A house with a canal view can be $3 million or $4 million minimum. The lack of available single-family homes means that some buyers switch to high-end condos with private elevators and big balconies with water views that can cost from $7 million to $40 million depending on the unit size. There’s a little more inventory in condos than in houses.