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Investors flock to flourishing Florida

Monday, November 14, 2011

Ivan Radford

Photo credit: Roman

Overseas investors are flocking to Florida, as property sales in the US state flourished in the third quarter of 2011.

The latest figures from the Miami Association of Realtors reveal that sales rose by 51 per cent compared to the same period in 2010, marking the 13th quarterly increase in a row - since 2008, house sales in Miami have been on the up, while Florida's total transactions for single family homes have increased by 12 per cent in the past year.

"Strong demand from international buyers is fuelling robust sales activity in Miami despite low consumer confidence and high unemployment," MAR chairman Jack Levine told Property Wire. "Local sales are expected to set a record this year that should exceed the height of the boom in 2005."

While economic worries spread through Europe, Florida is flying in the face of consumer fear, attracting global investors into the low-priced property market. Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina are the top investors in Florida's real estate, the MAR revealed at a conference last week. Accounting for almost 40 per cent of international sales, South America's buyers are closely followed by Canada, France, Spain and Italy, as eurozone concerns deter overseas investors.

UK buyers currently account for 3 per cent of Florida's sales, but the state is confident that sales will be even stronger in 2012. Since 2009 when it replaced California as the most popular property destination in the US, Florida has flourished, accounting for almost one-third of international purchases of American real estate in 2011.

And Florida's fortunes improved further still this week, with Henderson Global Investors investing $39.2 million in a new development in Fort Lauderdale. The number of foreclosures is falling too, putting yet another feather in Florida's property cap. The Sun Sentinal today reported that distressed sales made up 48 per cent of property sales last month, 6 per cent down on October 2010.

With foreclosures down and foreign interest up, Florida's future is looking increasingly fruity. As overseas investors continue to flock, Florida seems to have forgotten about the recession altogether.

Thinking of investing in Florida property?

Browse our listings of apartments, homes and other US real estate:

http://florida.themovechannel.com/property/all/ 

 

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