Restrictions on real estate purchases for buyers from Cuba, Venezuela and other countries.

IMG - Possible changes to Florida's real estate market. Legislation is moving through Florida that proposes to establish new rules for home purchases for citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, China, North Korea, Russia and Iran.

Residents of those countries would be restricted from purchasing real estate within 20 miles of an airport, military installations, and seaports and other locations. Chinese citizens would be prohibited from buying real estate statewide. If these laws go into effect, residents of these countries will be able to rent homes.

Nelson Gonzalez, senior vice president of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services EWM Realty, doesn't think the Florida real estate market will be hurt by this. "I'm not sure, other than Venezuela, that it's going to change the market'' 'real estate here,'" he said.

He observed that people who purchase real estate in Miami Beach are foreign buyers from the United States, specifically New York, California, Chicago and Connecticut.

The Miami Association of Realtors said that of the possibly limited countries, only Venezuela leads foreign buyers with 6 percent of the market. Still, Gonzalez believes Florida residents may have some advantages. "The rate of growth is slowing down, so in the next six to 12 months, buyers may have an opportunity to buy what they need," he said.

Version of the law