International buyers accounted for $6.1 billion or 36 percent of South Florida’s home sales in 2015, according to the recently released report by the Miami Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. From September 2014 to August 2015, foreign buyers picked Florida above other states when buying homes. Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Canada accounted for 62 percent of those sales.

The survey covers Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Martin counties, finding that Florida leads the country with 21 percent of the nation’s foreign purchases. Miami and Fort Lauderdale accounted for a whopping 50 percent of the state’s foreign sales. Based on dollar amounts, 79 percent of international sales were in Miami-Dade, followed by 18 percent in Broward and 2.7 percent in Palm Beach. Foreign buyers in South Florida tend to spend more than domestic buyers, and 75 percent of their purchases are made with all cash.