Florida is still the most popular place for foreign buyers to purchase a home, with the bulk of those sales in the southern part of the state, a Florida Realtors study found, per The Real Deal.

Florida accounted for 22 percent of all foreign sales across the country, with international sales reaching $24.2 billion for the 12-month period ending in July. This represents a 25 percent increase over the same period a year prior. The majority of foreign purchases in the state were made in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach representing 53 percent of total sales. Nationwide, foreign buyers made up 10 percent of sales by dollar volume.

Although there are fewer buyers from Latin America than in previous years, buyers from that region — along with ones from the Caribbean — still constitute the largest percentage of Florida homebuyers at 34 percent. The previous year, that figure was 39 percent.

Foreign buyers purchased 61,300 Florida residences, up from 47,000 in 2016. The median price paid by foreign buyers increased to $259,400, up from $252,500 in 2016. The median price paid by foreign buyers was 18 percent higher than the median price paid by all Florida buyers, according to the report.

The report is based on an annual study done by the National Association of Realtors in cooperation with Florida Realtors, analyzing the 12-month period between August 2016 and July 2017. The report was based on a survey of 6,551 Realtors.