Since the Miami Association of Realtors started to track sales to foreign buyers in 2006, Venezuelans have bought more Miami real estate than Brazilians, Argentinians or citizens of any other nation in the world, according to CNNMoney.

As a result, Miami has become known as a “global gateway,” much like New York and San Francisco, that attracts deep-pocketed investors from all over the world, said Neisen Kasdin, a real estate development attorney and former mayor of the city of Miami Beach.