Brazilians take Miami condo bargains

Brazilians like Frederico Azevedo are heading to Miami to purchase one home and ending up with three, given the extreme disparity between property prices in Miami and Brazil. "I bought one to use as a vacate home and the other two as investments," said Azevedo, president of Construtora Altana, a housing-development company. "It's actually very cheap in Miami compared to here." The Brazilian Real has appreciated 45 percent against the U.S. dollar since 2008. Last year, they bought 9 percent of homes sold to international buyers in Miami. According to Craig Studnicky, president of International Sales Group, half of downtown Miami condos sold to foreigners for more than $500,000 this year were bought by Brazilians.