• Home shoppers from Brazil, Canada and Venezuela dominated international home search traffic in Miami-Dade County, accounting for nearly a third of international shoppers looking for a Miami home on Zillow as of July.
• Home shoppers from all ten of the most popular countries for foreign inbound searches of Miami real estate through July typically sought homes worth more than the city’s median home value.

Miami has a well-deserved reputation for hospitality, welcoming tens of thousands of visitors and migrants attracted by the city’s legendary beauty and tolerance, and its promise of opportunity, not to mention having one of the largest cruise ports in the world.

As we look ahead to Miami’s opportunities and challenges during the fourth stop on our Housing Roadmap to 2016 tour of America to discuss issues like the changing demographics, foreign buyers, cash buyers, affordability and equality, it is essential to understand Miami’s recent history and its current situation. You have to understand where it came from to know where it will go.

In advance of our trip to Miami on August 27, we will be posting a series of research briefs focused on the challenges and opportunity unique to the area. All our Miami research can be found here.

LeBron James may have left South Beach, but the world’s elite are still riveted by Miami.

Miami is a major capital for the international jet set interested in revelry, retirement and U.S. real estate. But while Chinese investors, Russian oligarchs and European aristocracy may have the biggest reputations for scooping up Miami real estate, the bulk of foreign interest comes not from the Eastern hemisphere, but from countries to the north and south of the United States.

Home shoppers from Brazil, Canada and Venezuela dominated international home search traffic in Miami-Dade County, accounting for nearly a third of international shoppers looking for Miami-area homes on Zillow as of July, according to an analysis of search traffic. Among the ten countries with the most inbound searches for homes in the Miami area, seven were from the Americas. Germany, the United Kingdom and France round out the top 10.

Colombia, ranked 58th for total views among foreign countries searching for U.S. homes overall, represents the 7th largest source of foreign searches in greater Miami. The majority of Colombian views searched for homes in Miami-Dade County, followed closely by nearby Broward County and Palm Beach County. Searches originating from Venezuela show a similar trend, ranking 62nd nationally but third in Miami-Dade County, which again pulled in a plurality of Venezuelan views.

Interestingly, Chinese shoppers appear to have relatively little interest in Miami. Nationally, China ranked fourth among foreign countries looking at homes on Zillow, and represents more than 5 percent of international page views. But in Miami, China falls outside of the top 10, representing less than 1 percent of foreign page views.

In June, the median home value in Miami-Dade County increased 8.6 percent annually to $240,200. Foreigners, whether looking for a retirement home, luxury vacation condo or an investment property, consistently looked at homes well above this median value. Argentines viewed the least homes, with the median home valued at slightly more than $270,000. Brits and Germans seemed willing to spend the most, looking at homes typically valued at more than $700,000 and $600,000, respectively.