Here's an up-and-coming trend in 2016 for South Florida residential real estate: more French buyers. That's the word from Viaprestige Real Estate Miami principals Marie-Charlotte Piro and William Harbour.

South Florida's a hot topic among French buyers and investors, according to Marie-Charlotte, since Miami in particular is perceived as one of the most European-like cities in the country, "so it doesn’t take very long for buyers to feel at home here," she says. Besides, French-speaking investors still see appreciation potential in properties here even in spite of the strength of the dollar. In 2013, France was the No. 1 country generating searches in the Miami Realtor association website, and over 30,000 French people live in Miami, a number that's growing.

After being the South Florida affiliate of a French luxury real estate network since 2011, Miami-based MC2 Realty merged recently with the French company Viaprestige Immobilier to form Viaprestige Real Estate Miami. The merger marks the first US location for Viaprestige, which also has real estate offices throughout Morocco and the West Indies. The Viaprestige network works with French-speaking real estate buyers, sellers and investors and matches them with properties throughout the world, Marie-Charlotte says.