According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2014 Profile of International Home Buying Activity Report, favorable exchange rates, affordable home prices and rising affluence abroad continue to drive foreign buyers to the U.S. to purchase properties and make real estate investments.

For the period April 2013 through March 2014, total international sales have been estimated at a record-setting $92.2 billion, an increase from the previous period’s level of $68.2 billion. Four states accounted for 55% of the total reported purchases – Florida, California, Arizona and Texas. Florida remains the destination of choice, claiming a 23% share of all foreign purchases, followed by California (14%), Texas (12%) and Arizona (6%). The top five cities searched online by foreign buyers in 2014 include LA, Miami, Las Vegas, Orlando and NYC (Source: Realtor.com).

Influx of South Americans is currently driving Miami’s reinvention. Partly as a result, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region eclipsed Los Angeles in 2012 as the major metropolitan area with the largest share — 45 percent — of immigrant business owners, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. Colombians are the largest group of South Americans, making up nearly 5 percent of Miami-Dade’s population. They are joined by Argentines, Peruvians and a growing number of Venezuelans. Brazilians, relative newcomers to Miami, are now a distinct presence as well. The Venezuelan population jumped 117 percent over 10 years, a number that does not capture the surge in recent arrivals. Over half of Miami’s residents are foreign born, and 63 percent speak Spanish at home.