Nearly 90% of foreign buyers in Florida purchase properties for
cash. And foreign nationals keep flocking not only to Miami and
Florida but to the U.S. to snag luxury second-homes, and developers are
increasingly looking to cater to the global buyer through the design of their
properties.
Designers are tweaking their designs to accommodate to what they
considered to be the trend of taste and style of citizens of different
countries or regions.
The Wall Street Journal reports that “New
buildings and residences now have kitchens outfitted with wok burners to
attract Asian buyers. Others have European-style bathtubs and bidets for
Western tastes. South American-inspired residences include sprawling balconies
that can accommodate large extended families for dining and playing games.”
In 2012, international buyers purchased $82.5 billion in
residential real estate in the U.S.—an increase from $53.4 billion in 2010,
according to National Association of Realtors data. What’s more, NAR data shows
that international buyers spend about double the amount a typical American home
buyer spends.
“I can look at an apartment or house and almost figure out the
nationality of buyers who are there,” Mark Zilbert, president and CEO of
Miami-based Zilbert International Realty, told The Wall Street Journal.
“Whether it’s deliberate or not, [developers] are putting in a lot of features
that appeal to that taste and color palette.” In Miami alone, about 60 percent
of home buyers were from overseas last year, according to the Miami Association
of Realtors.
Developers of twin 49-story towers are showing international
models of their Miami apartments, hoping to lift sales. Before employing this
strategy, 653 of the 849 apartments were unsold in the towers. However, developers
realized that the majority of buyers were coming from Argentina, Venezuela, and
Brazil and so they decided to cater more to their tastes. The developer
commissioned models that showcase designers from Venezuela, Brazil, Spain,
Colombia, and the U.S.
“It’s really about the nuance,” Philip J. Spiegelman, who
handles marketing for the developer, told The Wall Street Journal. “Colombians
may like very modern-contemporary, while the Brazilians may like something more
conservatively contemporary.”
This migration effect of thousands of international buyers and
the catering of their respective tastes in the architectural design of the city
will continue to shape the face and fiber of Miami to become an even more
diverse international metropolis. *Notes taken from Realty Biz News & The Wall Street Journal.
