Janet Bassett, Realtor, Signature Sotheby's International Realty
By Janet Bassett, REALTOR, Signature Sotheby’s International Realty
International buyers have helped buttress Florida’s real estate market with 22 percent of all foreign clients nationally choosing property in the Sunshine State.
Recently, I spent 2.5 days with a couple from Switzerland, looking at properties in the upper-end and we previewed properties in St. Armand’s Circle, Siesta Key and Harbor Acres both for the lifestyle and value.
Financing is difficult right now for foreign nationals with banks changing their policies from previous years. Nationally, about 55 percent of foreign buyers pay with cash, possibly because it is more challenging for international clients to obtain financing in 2010.
In Florida, about 82 percent of international buyers paid in cash. But most international buyers don’t aim that high. The median price paid by foreign buyers nationally is $219,400 reported recently by Amy Miller, from the Palm Beach Post.
International buyers are extremely important to us right now, especially in this critical time of recovery in absorbing the inventory. They want to purchase at a great exchange rate, hold the property for the value to increase. These buyers are not in for the short term, but rather a long term real estate investment.
International buyers have helped buttress Florida’s real estate market with 22 percent of all foreign clients nationally choosing property in the Sunshine State. That makes Florida tops for attracting foreign interest, according to a summer report by the National Association of Realtors. California came in a far second with 12 percent of the international market.
While Florida’s share of foreign clients has slipped from a recent high of more than 26 percent in 2008, bargain basement prices and a weakened dollar have continued to lure Canadian and overseas buyers.
The NAR study also looked at sales between March 2009 and March 2010, and found that buyers with permanent residences outside the United States spent an estimated $41 billion on residential property nationally during the period of the study – that’s 4 percent of the total residential market during the same time.
It’s unclear how a recent dip in the Euro may temper overseas purchases. It’s now worth $1.28, compared with a high of $1.60 in 2008. That means to buy a $500,000 house, it would cost about 388,709 Euros. But the Canadian dollar, which has traditionally been weaker than U.S. currency, is now near parity at 95 cents, stated The Palm Beach Post.
Europeans are aware of the “window of opportunity” because of our prices being low. Sarasota was named recently in the International Property Magazine as the best place to purchase in the United States.
We are reaching out to European friends with assistance, enhanced protocol and most of all, understanding.
