Miami Beach Real Estate Market Awash in Foreign Cash Buyers

Sure, $2 million is a drop in the bucket for many of the buyers around Miami Beach's swank North Bay Road area, where homes begin in this price range. But for these buyers, many of whom are wealthy foreigners, cash is burning a hole in their pockets. The traditional route of bank financing, down payment and mortgage is foreign to their purchasing process.

"A cash buyer may be someone who is borrowing from somewhere on their own, they may have the money in the bank, they may own the bank, but their purchase is not contingent on a finance deal," Esther Percal, senior vice president of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell in Miami Beach, told HousingWatch.