The best of both worlds – why now is the right time to buy in Florida say experts
The real estate market in Florida has undeniably been in decline since the heady boom years of 2006/7 however with property prices now reaching levels seen nearly a decade ago, it is savvy international buy-to-let investors who are snapping up prime properties at bargain prices.
Floridian property experts Property Frontiers believe that the sunshine state has finally reached the bottom of the cycle and that home prices will slowly but surely begin to once again increase. This feeling is echoed by the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) who has reported a 24% increase in existing home sales in March 2011 compared to the same time last year.
"A variety of housing opportunities are available at attractive prices across the state, while mortgage interest rates remain historically low," said Patricia Fitzgerald, 2011 Florida Realtors President.
Condominium style properties in particular are leading the way for sales with 9,703 units sold in March 2011 alone and it is foreign investors driving this come back. Non-US citizens, especially European residents are seeing low bank interest rates in their home countries and Florida today offers exceptional value for money in terms of the size and specification of property that you can purchase, the positive prospect of market recovery as well as homes offering appealing returns. Buyers can become the proud owners of a four bedroom condo with pool close to Disneyland for $150,000 in today’s market; prior to the market crash these properties would be sold for at least double that.
Florida remains one of the most popular global holiday destinations, something that British Airways is capitalizing on by increasing their long haul flights to Tampa to a daily service in response to the demand for travel stateside. This continued popularity for Florida tourism, some 82.6 million visited in 2010, an encouraging 2.1% increase on 2009 numbers, reinforces why buy to let investors with a keen eye on the market are now dipping into their pockets to secure their Floridian bricks and mortar, right at the beginning of the recovery in order to make maximum returns.
Ray Withers, Director of Florida property investment experts, Property Frontiers, comments,
“As with every market the old adage reins true of location, location, location. It is important for buyers not to be blinkered by some of the really cheap deals on offer in Florida; most of the time, cheap is simply cheap. You won’t attract the crucial holiday rental market to a low specification property in an out of town location, also the poorly located properties will be the last to come through the market depression and at a time when on the whole the property market appears to be at rock bottom spelling future positivity for investors, this would be a critical and costly mistake to make”.
Highgate Residences at Regal Palms for example in Davenport, just one hour from Tampa, unlike many below market value property offerings, is zoned for short term rentals which allows owners to let to holiday makers seeking fun and adventure at the nearby themes parks such as Walt Disney World and Sea World. These holiday lets will earn investors a guaranteed 8% net yield per year with only a modest 64% occupancy rate required to achieve this. Highgate Residences is a turnkey and hassle free investment opportunity which also offers plenty of personal usage for owners so they can make the most of their 3 or 4 bedroom upscale townhouses.
A limited number of townhouses are available at Regal Palms from $99,000 so contact Property Frontiers today on +44 (0) 1865 202 700 for more information or visit www.propertyfrontiers.com.