Rise of Miami as ‘world-class city for luxury real estate’
More foreign investors are looking for luxury property in Miami, which is on its way to becoming a first-tier city and is among the world’s top 10 cities for luxury, says a top international Realtor
Miami is fast becoming a world-class city for luxury real estate, says a leading international Realtor.
As in other areas of America, Chinese buyers are active in purchasing high-end property in Miami, but stronger demand has come from investors across South America, international marketing specialist Helen Jeanne Nicastri tells OPP Connect.
“I have some Chinese buyers at the moment who are interested in high-end condos and waterfront homes. Chinese buyers are not the most abundant, but there are some in the north east and they have bought winter houses there,” says the Coldwell Banker Realtor, who is based in South Florida.
“Mainly, overseas buyers are from South America, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil and Columbia, as well as in Europe from France, Italy and Spain.”
Chinese investors face restrictions on the amount of money they can take out of the country, as there is a yearly US$50,000 per-person limit on taking money out of the country, although some investors find ways around this, it can still be an issue when buying prime property.
Ms Nicastri explains, “China cannot move money out easily. In the case of a $15million penthouse, say, if the client is only able to move out USS2million a month, it would take seven or eight months and by that time, the apartment will have gone.”
Half of Ms Niscastri’s business is with overseas investors and she is in an ideal position to understand foreign buyer needs having gone to school in Mexico and lived in Spain. She is also fluent in several languages and has in-depth global industry connections and experience.
The number one target for foreign buyers of US homes (23%) is Florida, according to the 2014 Profile of International Home Buying Activity, which has just been published by the National Association of Realtors. Almost three out of ten of buyers (28%) come from Europe and 26% from Latin America with 8% from Asia/Oceana.
Miami is among the top five markets searched by Canadians in the last year, according to data from the realtor.com website. Another strong source of prime home buyers within the US are those who are looking to relocate from New York, Ms Nicastri says.
One huge advantage that the Sunshine State has is its growing commercial sector and global businesses are increasingly looking to set up there. “Florida is outstanding in terms of business opportunities and companies like to business in Europe in the morning and North America in the afternoon in the New York, Miami, California triangle.
As a result, Miami is fast becoming a first-tier city and is among the top 10 world-class cities for luxury, says Ms Nicastri, who was Southeast Florida’s Number One Sales Associate for Coldwell Banker in 2012 and was voted Top Miami Realtor by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce in 2013.
“Miami is not one of the first-tier cities, but it is getting there. New York demand is very strong., They are buying second homes and want to get out of New York, and live here permanently. I came from there and was ahead of the curve.
“I only see Miami’s future going up, up and up. In terms of investment value, Miami is taking its place amongst world-class cities. It is number eight in the world for luxury cities in quality surveys.”
Ms Nicastri is a member of FIABCI, the International Federation of Realtors Worldwide and represented Coldwell Banker at FIABCI World Congress in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2012. She also represents Coldwell Banker at the French MIPIM overseas property show and is a member of Coldwell Banker’s International Federation of Realtors and speaks at the Miami International Real Estate Congress.
Culturally, Miami offers a ‘big city’ experience, including trendsetting art shows, concerts and more, she adds.
By Adrian Bishop, Editor, OPP Connect
