South Florida Real Estate: $5.1B International Sales in 2023
This year, South Florida’s residential real estate market saw a total of $5.1 billion in purchases by international buyers, marking a $1.7 billion decline from the $6.8 billion spent in 2022, according to data from the Miami Association of Realtors.
Over the past year, both foreign and domestic acquisitions experienced a downturn across the tri-county region, attributed to a market cooldown following the pandemic-induced surge. Despite an overall reduction in spending by foreign buyers, they maintained a strong presence in the South Florida market, accounting for 18 percent of the total deal volume.
International buyers acquired 6,200 South Florida homes during the year, with Colombians and Argentines leading in the largest share of the area’s foreign market. The top three international buyer groups were Colombia at 15 percent, Argentina at 14 percent, and Brazil at 7 percent.
Breaking down the foreign buyer sales volume, Miami-Dade County led with 72 percent, amounting to $3.7 billion in closed deals. Broward County recorded $1.1 billion in international transactions, while Palm Beach County had a more modest figure of $270 million. According to Jaclyn Bild, an agent with Douglas Elliman in Miami, the past year has witnessed a more significant role for the foreign market in transactions, especially with Latin American buyers seeking South Florida’s real estate as a safe haven during periods of political and social unrest.
Among foreign buyer groups, Canadians stand out as one of the most substantial, particularly in the Miami Beach ultra-luxury marketplace, according to Dina Goldentayer, a Douglas Elliman agent. While other international buyers show less interest in deals priced at over $20 million, there is a consistent rise in Canadian activity in South Florida, especially in the Fort Lauderdale region.
