“I expect this trend to continue into 2017,” says Zylberglait. “Miami has matured as a gateway city to a point investors want to invest here not only to protect and grow their capital but also to insulate their wealth from instability in their countries.”

MIAMI—As Miami's residential condo market slows, a new phenomenon is percolating in the South Florida commercial real estate market. Foreign buyers, which have generally gravitated toward investing in pre-construction residential condos, are turning their attention to income-producing commercial real estate properties.

Fueling this trend is the economic uncertainties in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, China and the UK. On top of that is the growing availability of financing for foreign investors.

“Latin American investors' voracious appetite for retail centers, office buildings and hotels is injecting billions of dollars into our economy,” Alex Zylberglait, senior vice president of Investments with Marcus & Millichap in Miami, tells GlobeSt.com. He recently returned from Argentina, where he held a workshop to discuss investing in Miami commercial real estate and says, “The high net worth individuals and private equity funds I met with in Argentina view Miami as a key commercial property market to diversity their portfolio.”

Foreign investment in commercial real estate assets has grown significantly this year. For example, foreign investors have injected $1.6 billion in commercial real estate in Miami between January and July 2016, according to Real Capital Analytics. That number went up from $1.1 billion during the same period in 2015 and $420.2 million in the same period 2014.

“I expect this trend to continue into 2017,” says Zylberglait. “Miami has matured as a gateway city to a point investors want to invest here not only to protect and grow their capital but also to insulate their wealth from instability in their countries.”