With a 13% increase in Floridian home sales, the future of the ‘Sunshine State’ becomes brighter
The Floridian housing market may well be heating up according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors, seeing sales of existing homes climbing by 13% in Q1 2011 compared to the same period last year, with 17 of 19 metropolitan areas in the Florida state recording more property sales.
In light of increased sales, data sourced exclusively from TheMoveChannel.com, a leading overseas property search portal, has shown that enquiries for Florida property are up by 61% in June 2011 compared to June last year whilst the total number of enquiries in H1 2011 are more than double that of H2 2010.
Additional data from TheMoveChannel.com indicates that 2 and 3 bedroom condos are the most popular searched for properties in Florida and that peak enquiries for the ‘Sunshine State’ take place during the winter months between December and February.
The major city of Orlando, located in the central region of Florida saw 62.53% of sales completed in May this year for distressed properties; however Orlando has slowly started experiencing a rise in traditional sales, indicating the market is moving in the right direction, given that non-distressed properties sell at higher prices. And certainly, as tourism continues to surge, with the city being the first to surpass the 50 million mark last year with Buddy Dyer, Mayor of Orlando and Florida officials announcing that Orlando pulled in 51.45 million tourists in 2010, beating New York to the post as the most visited place in the US, property sales are likely to continue to rise as Orlando’s popularity grows and buyer confidence strengthens.
Ray Withers, Director of Florida property investment experts, Property Frontiers, comments,
“Florida, in particular Orlando, recognised as a ‘world city’ remains one of the most sought after vacation destinations especially for families due to the guaranteed sunshine and wealth of activities and entertainment available.
The market is on the up and it is certainly a good time to buy, particularly in Orlando where shrewd buy to let investors will be able to take advantage of the remarkably affordable property prices seeing as high quality homes such as Highgate Residences at Regal Palms, are now on the market for less that 50% of what they were priced at five years ago.”
Typically, Brits are considered to be one of the largest foreign buyers of Floridian property; however it appears that Canadians are starting to drive property sales, particularly in Orlando according to data from leading realtors Coldwell Banker Feltrim.
It has been stated by the Bank of Montreal that one in five Canadians would currently consider buying American property not only for personal use but for investment purposes and considering the current strength of the Canadian dollar as well as the country’s general economy, Canadian property buyers have superior opportunities for property investments spawned from greater borrowing powers.
One established resort development located in Davenport, only a short drive to Orlando, Highgate Residences at Regal Palms, is receiving serious interest from both British and international buyers keen to snap up the 3 and 4 bedroom fully furnished townhouses available from just $99,000.
These high quality properties are located only minutes from Walt Disney World and SeaWorld and provide a two acre swimming pool complex complete with lazy river, waterslides and sundeck making them ideal family holiday homes. Furthermore with an experienced onsite rental management company in place and average holiday rental occupancy rates of 64% being achieved forecast owners can be confident of receiving income when they are not using the property themselves.
A limited number of 3 and 4 bedroom townhouses are available at Highgate Residences at Regal Palms so contact Property Frontiers today on +44 (0) 1865 202 700 or for more information or visit www.propertyfrontiers.com.