Investors are snatching up distressed ocean front condos in Miami like never before. Mimi Whitefield of the Miami Herald has written an expose on the sudden attention that Miami Real Estate is getting. Lured by rock-bottom prices, international buyers are now flocking to buy Florida properties. It’s especially true in countries where the currency is strong against the dollar.
At least three of five buyers in the Greater Downtown Miami condos market are coming from abroad, estimates Jenny Huertas, international sales director for Condo Vultures, a real estate advisory and research firm. The stampede from overseas is “kind of like a foreign subsidy helping us resolve our real estate problems,” said Peter Zalewski, a Condo Vultures principal. “This time the assistance isn’t coming from Washington. It’s coming from Caracas, London, Milan, Bogotá.” The buying frenzy was set off by developers lowering prices on new units to below what it cost to build in today’s market, Huertas said.
Canadians are forming a major chunk of the buyers as the Canadian Dollar has been extremely strong. There are also Swiss and French real estate firms that have purchased property and commercial Real Estate In Miami in bulk for international re-sale. Though buyers from Europe, Latin America, most from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela; and Canada predominate in the South Florida market, a smattering of Chinese investors and African buyers also are starting to make purchases.
The prices for a luxury tower like Marquis Residences, a 67-story tower in downtown Miami where prices for a one-bedroom apartment would previously at $375,000 are now at $317 per square foot. For the Europeans, to buy a $1 million condo, it now takes around 814,000 euros compared to 625,000 euros under the old exchange rate. In properties such as the Sunny Isles beach condos which are ideal for the average joe, buyers can find a one-bedroom for under $75,000 vis-à-vis $190,000 earlier and a two-bedroom for under $100,000.