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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2016)
January 27, 2016 The Skanner Page 9 News As wealthy Brazilians Snap up Miami Real Estate, Few Benefit Josh Boak, Jennifer Kay Associated Press MIAMI — Facing a tee- tering economy at home, wealthy Brazilians have been pouring money into what they increasingly see as the safest place to invest: South Florida real estate. So are Argentinians, Colombians, Mexicans, Venezuelans, French and Turks — almost anyone with money to shelter, a direct flight to Miami and a shaky economy to flee. Their cash has helped drive the latest twist in Miami’s ever-evolving “ undergone a more dras- tic face-lift from foreign cash in the past decade: Luxury condo towers and swanky retailers crowd a downtown once marred by empty lots. And almost no develop- er expects the demand to stop. Yet Miamians as a whole have scarcely benefited from the glitz. Wages have actually dropped for Miami work- ers in the past year. Area unemployment tops the national average. Mi- ami contains the largest share of renters in the country who devote over 30 percent of their pay to Murray, associate direc- tor of Florida Interna- tional University’s Met- ropolitan Center. “That impacts local businesses, and we’re losing oppor- tunities to create year- round housing for our workers. They’re moving out.” But with its glamorous locale and easy access, Miami real estate offers an asset that’s appre- ciating at a time when other investments have shrunk or turned fright- eningly volatile. That’s despite being on a stretch of land prone to natural disasters. “All of the insecurity We’re not seeing the benefits of that income being disposed of in the local economy. That impacts local businesses, and we’re losing op- portunities to create year-round housing for our workers. They’re moving out transformation — from a 19th century rail stop to a tourist-and-retiree hub to a haven for Cuban refugees to now a harbor for global investors. No American skyline has housing — the level the government deems bur- densome. “We’re not seeing the benefits of that income being disposed of in the local economy,” said Ned around the rest of the world only reminds peo- ple how important it is to have assets in the United States,” said Alicia Cer- vera Lamadrid, a devel- oper who is leading sales AP PHOTO/WILFREDO LEE, FILE Amid real estate boom, locals struggle with low wages, high unemployment and fewer affordable rentals In this Oct. 30, 2015, file photo, a pedestrian walks past a Fendi store in the Miami Design District in Miami. A proliferation of luxury stores in Miami is serving wealthy Latin Americans fleeing financial and political turmoil in their countries. efforts for the planned 57-story Elysee, with condo units starting at $1.65 million and person- al wine storage available for residents. No fewer than 126 residential towers are planned for construction in South Florida. One sign of the scale of wealth from abroad is that the majority of foreign pur- chases are being funded with cash, not debt. Last year, foreigners spent $6.1 billion on Mi- ami-area real estate — 36 percent of all such in- vestment, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. Nationally, for- eigners account for just 8 percent of sales. The influx has been sudden enough that the federal government has announced plans to mon- itor home purchases ex- ceeding $3 million in Mi- ami and New York City. Starting in March, the government will tempo- rarily require title com- panies to identify buyers of property. Authorities have grown concerned that money launderers may be using anony- mous holding companies to stash money in high- end real estate. The average luxury condo price in Miami Beach has surged 35 per- cent from a year ago to $3.7 million, according to the real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman. See MIAMI on page 10 Get Breaking News Be the first to know...local, US and world news...plus special events At your desk ...or on the go. Sign up at
