Miami brokers anticipate Chinese buying surge
Until recently, Chinese investors lagged far behind the South Americans and Europeans who dominate the most active foreign buyers of Miami real estate rankings.
But brokers are bracing for a surge in Chinese buying that could get a big boost this fall.
Next week, a Miami brokerage is hosting a group of 10 Chinese journalists on a tour of Miami residential offerings. Later in October, the Miami Association of Realtors is co-sponsoring a trade mission from Miami to Shanghai and Beijing.
The goal is to spur interest in the fastest-growing group of international buyers in the U.S. Until now, Chinese investors have done more looking than buying in Miami, preferring to concentrate their purchases in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.
Until this year, Chinese investors were not among the top international buying groups in the Miami market. But through the first six months of 2014, Chinese buyers represented about 1.6 percent of properties sold in Miami-Dade County, good for 10th place behind Mexico, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.
An overbuilt Chinese market and slowing national economy are driving many buyers from China to purchase overseas investment properties. With 12 percent of foreign purchases in the U.S. in 2013, China was second only to Canada (23 percent) among foreign buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors. A quarter of Chinese purchases in the United States have been in the range of $470,000 to $800,000, according to the Soufang Report for Chinese overseas buying.
Most of those purchases were not made in Miami. Local Brokers, including Serge Kay and his Team of realtors, are betting this Chinese media tour will stoke interest back home. The group includes decision-makers from nine radio, television and social media organizations, including Xinhua News Agency and CCTV News.
The tour will include Miami Beach and the Port Miami, Brickell City Centre, Sunny Isles, Bal Harbour and Surfside condo developments and other developments in downtown Miami and Biscayne corridor.
