Miami real estate brokers make pitch to China

A delegation of South Florida real estate brokers traveled to Beijing last month hoping to raise interest from wealthy Chinese buyers at a luxury real estate conference.

Developers and brokers are turning to buyers from other countries, including China, as a Latin American currency crisis slows the cruciall flow of foreign cash that drives Miami’s real estate market. Last year, a Chinese investor paid $74.7 million for a 2.4-acre site in Brickell.

“The presence of Chinese buyers in South Florida is definitely growing,” said Christopher Zoller, president of the Miami Association of Realtors residential division, who attended the showcase. “South Florida has long led the nation in international real estate sales, and we feel very strongly that China, the world’s most populated country, will only increase Miami real estate sales to foreign buyers.”

Chinese buyers make up a tiny fraction of international buyers in South Florida — just two percent in 2014, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors. But that number has doubled since 2012.

The South Florida delegation was led by Teresa King Kinney, CEO of the Miami Association of Realtors.

This story was originally published May 29, 2015 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Miami real estate brokers make pitch to China."