South Florida is best known these days for attracting Latin American investors, but other foreigners want in, such as from exotic Canada. (How will they be able to cope with the heat?) Recently, a Canadian partnership acquired the 94k SF Dolphin Plaza, a community center in Miami Gardens, for $8.2M. Marcus & Millichap senior associate Jason Yukins, who repped the buyers, tells us that this foreign interest in Miami-Dade retail is fueled by predictable yields, strong demographics, and the interest rate environment. Sales of retail multi-tenant properties doubled in the previous year, and out-of-state and international buyers made up about one-third of all sales.

Retail might be dandy, but multifamily is still the darling among foreign buyers in South Florida, who are digging deep for assets. A private foreign investor recently snapped up 17-unit Bella Apartments in Sunny Isles Beach for $5.7M in a deal arranged by CBRE. Positive market fundamentals, inexpensive debt, and a rush of foreign (and domestic) buyers have contributed to significantly higher sales activity, CBRE director of operations Calum Weaver says, yet there are a limited number of properties on the market. That has investors competing aggressively.