Malaysians go mad for Miami homes

EXCLUSIVE: Property buyers from Malaysia were extremely active in searching for Florida property during August, with searches from the country ranked seventh globally according to the 30,000-member Miami Association of Realtors.

Despite the weakening of the Brazilian currency in recent months, Brazil remains a top market for Miami real estate. Following Brazil were Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela. Rounding out the top ten were Russia, Malaysia, France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Lynda Fernandez, Senior Vice President of Public Relations & International for the Miami Association of Realtors, told PropertyGuru: "There are various factors that impact who is searching our properties – promotions, outreach, and other factors can cause consumers from one country to suddenly move up in the rankings."

"Buyers from the United Kingdom have traditionally looked at less expensive markets, such as Orlando, but have recently begun to have more interest in Miami/South Florida."

"Although Singapore may be an investor hotspot, Malaysia has a very strong economy, which usually is a strong indicator of foreign investment activity. Miami is increasingly attracting buyers and investors from markets worldwide, including Asian buyers."

Fernandez added that Genting Group is planning a major project including luxury condo towers, hotels and other elements to be determined in Downtown Miami and proposing a casino similar to those they have in other parts of the world.

"Due to Genting's presence in our market, we are also attracting attention from Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong due to those being locations of Genting Group member companies."

Top Ten Countries visiting Miamire.com in August 2013:

1. Brazil
2. Canada
3. Argentina
4. Colombia
5. Venezuela
6. Russia
7. Malaysia
8. France
9. Spain
10. United Kingdom

Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg

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