European Buyers Snatching Up Prime South Florida Real Estate

MIAMI (CBS4) - Miami's depressed condo market is getting a boost from abroad.

Realtors are reporting an increase in international buyers, mostly European, interested in purchasing waterfront condos sitting empty in high rises.

Many of the condos are priced to sell, made even more enticing by the weak dollar.

"All of the people that are coming in looking at a major opportunity,"said Keller Williams Realtor Melanie Hyer. "Every time I work with a European buyer, I can expect that three other transactions come from that."

An investment in South Florida makes sense especially for Massimiliano Bruno, a buyer from Italy.

"You have the sea, the sun and everything. Now is a good moment to make some investments here for sure," said Bruno. "It is easier for a foreign guy to comfortable here in Miami."

Bruno is an investor in the Italian restaurant Piola near Mary Brickell Village. Now he needs a place to live part time to keep and eye on the business.

"In Italy, for the same price as an apartment a two bedroom apartment in Brickell you take a one bedroom apartment in a tough area," said Bruno.