The Great Real Estate Bargains of Central Florida

Crisis and opportunity are like two sides of a coin. The foreclosure crisis which has depressed the real estate market in Florida and most of the nation has also created some great opportunities for home buyers and investors. This is especially true in the Central Florida region.

What caused the crisis?

Where do we begin? The easy loans, low interest rates, construction binge, over inflated home values, robo-signing scandal, toxic titles, the falling dollar, a sputtering economy, job losses, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac fiascos, bank closures…and the list could go on.

The Opportunity

While there are many pockets of depressed housing markets in the country, the Central Florida region is home to one of the highest foreclosures in the country which has resulted in a yard sale like bargain basement opportunity like never before for investors. For example, home prices in Sarasota were averaging $350 per square foot and $250 in the Orlando area in 2006. Today, prices in some of these areas have plummeted to an unthinkable $47 per square foot in Sarasota and $140 in Orlando. With properties being sold for as little as 35 cents on the dollar in some area of Central Florida, it is no wonder that domestic and international investors from Europe and Canada have been making a beeline to the area to score awesome bargains, as if it was Black Friday.

With the U.S. and Canadian dollars almost at par, this is a fantastic opportunity for Canadians buyers and investors. Canadians are still able to get great financing in the U.S. Canadian banks are bending backwards to facilitate their citizens by offering special loan packages and expedited approvals.

Thanks to the continuously falling dollar value, the Brits are the second largest contingent to take advantage of this unprecedented buyer’s market. Some real estate agents in the Central Florida regions have been receiving 25-30 emails each day from UK investors, some of whom are willing to pay cash to buy the best deals. So what’s attracting these investors besides cheap prices? Well, the Europeans get a much bigger bang for their dough in Florida than in Europe. Commodious custom-built properties, splendid golf communities, excellent future capital growth prospects, good schools, access to beautiful beaches, the Florida sunshine, etc., are icing on the cake.

Most of the domestic buyers are the ones who ironically made their fortunes during the peak housing and condominium boom that preceded the current situation. Many of these investors are buying homes and townhomes near the University of Central Florida and renting them to students and families that want to take advantage of some of the best public schools in the state.

When will all this end?

Anyone that predicts this accurately would be listed in the Forbes richest list for years!