Russians were the most active foreigners on Miami’s real estate sector during 2016, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. It was the first time this result had occurred since the association began tracking the statistic in 2013. Colombians and Venezuelans finished second and third, respectively. The association credits The Miami city of Sunny Isles Beach, known as “Little Moscow” for its propensity of Russian-owned delis, restaurants, beauty spas, supermarkets and real estate companies. About 7.4 percent of Sunny Isles residents list Russian as their first language, according to the U.S. Census.
Among all international buyers, Canadians spent the most on South Florida real estate, with 81 percent of them conducting all-cash transactions for South Florida real estate in 2016. They were followed by investors from Argentina (78 percent), Colombia (71 percent), Venezuela (71 percent) and Brazil (65 percent) trailed Canada in cash sales.
“Miami’s emergence as one of the world’s top cities is attracting buyers from a greater array of countries than before,” said the Miami Association of Realtors president Christopher Zoller. “Russian consumers and home buyers and investors from China to Canada want to own a piece of Miami real estate because Miami is young, multicultural, modern and economically diverse.”
