Interest in Miami realty intensifies

Chinese buyers have doubled their residential property purchases in South Florida over the last four years, growing from 1 percent of all international sales in 2011 to 2 percent in 2015, according to the 2015 Miami Profile of International Home Buyers released by the Miami Association of Realtors.

"That may not sound like much, but because Miami has so many international sales (22 percent of unit sales and 36 percent of dollar volume), 1 percent of our international sales are more than some market's total international sales," said Teresa King Kinney, CEO of the association.

"I still believe it's just a fraction of what it will be," she said.