Brazilian Home Buyers Positively Stimulating the South Florida Real Estate Market

Brazilians are visiting and investing in South Floridain record numbers, according to a recent article in The Miami Herald.The South Florida newspaper reported that not only are Brazilians storming the luxury South Florida real estate market, but they’re also investing in local businesses.

According to the article, the recent surge in Brazilian visitors and Brazilian home buyers in the South Florida real estate market is largely credited to Brazil’s booming economy.  In fact, the country’s economy is expected to become the fifth largest in the world by 2016.

In addition, Brazil’s currency is stronger than the dollar, which makes investing in South Florida all the more appealing for Brazilian home buyers.

Everywhere you look in South Florida, there are signs that the area’s relationship with Brazilian home buyers is becoming increasingly paramount to the local economy.  According to the Miami Herald:

• American Airlines provides 52 flights to Brazil a week from Miami International Airport.
• An estimated 500,000 Brazilians visited Miami-Dade in 2010, spending more than $1 billion locally.
• The local tourism bureau has increasingly published guides, maps and other tourist materials in Portuguese.
• The number of Brazilians visiting Broward County last year jumped by 50 percent to about 300,000 visitors.
• After Canada, Brazil is the second most important foreign market in Broward County.
• There are an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 Brazilians living in Florida, according to the Brazilian Consulate in Miami.  The majority of them live in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, as well as Orlando.

Many of these Brazilian home buyers are settling in the Sunny Isles and Miami areas in high-end, waterfront condominiums and properties, the article reported.