Reasons to Invest in Florida

Florida has long been a preferred investment and re-location destination for North Americans along with buyers from around the world. As an investment location, Florida offers a wealth of attractions to buyers. The economic crisis has drawn additional interest into Florida’s real estate market amongst investors in financially stable positions for purchasing in the current economic climate.

As it is considered that the US real estate market has now reached its lowest point following around 2 years of falling house prices, the future signifies growth potential offering mid to long term investors with exceptional gains. The opportunities to obtain fantastic bargains are drawing growing numbers of foreign investors to the Florida real estate market. Some of the main reasons why Florida holds such a strong appeal as an investment location are outlined below.

Florida is an Established Real Estate Market

Fewer risks are associated with real estate investments in established markets as opposed to newer, emerging markets, although this security is often accompanied by higher property prices. The recent downturn of the US real estate market has created a unique position for investors, featuring some of the lowest property prices seen in years. These bargains have created an established market where the cost of housing is mirroring some emerging markets.

Additional security to buyers from an established market is the highly developed purchasing processes and availability of financing opportunities. Despite the tightening of lending criteria for real estate financing, mortgage availability in Florida is often more readily available and easy to obtain compared with other US states.

Taxation advantages also abound in the state of Florida, where benefits are geared towards investors providing housing opportunities to the high demand from the local population. The tax advantages geared towards buy-to-let investors is an additional benefit when calculating returns on the investment.

Florida has a Strong Economy

The strength of the local economy provides additional stability for Florida, where the local economy is considered to be one of the most advanced in the entire country. The diversity of the economic activities across the state extends well beyond the tourism sector, with transportation, construction, education, healthcare and business facilities producing excellent overall results with economic growth.

Political stability combined with lifestyle advantages draw many highly educated professionals to Florida.  The professional workforce assists to continuously improve the service sectors, creating strength in the local economy to weather financial storms that are strongly affecting other areas of the country.

While the dollar currency may have lost considerable strength against others such as the Euro or Sterling, this situation generates added appeal to foreign investors entering the market. Along with the availability of many genuine bargains following the real estate downturn, the weakened position of the US currency creates additional attractions to foreign investors.

Florida Features Excellent Buy-to-Let Opportunities

Investors are keen to take advantage of the excellent buy-to-let opportunities in Florida, enabling the additional benefit of having a holiday home in one of the worlds most sought after destinations. The attraction of the Disneyland brand has greatly assisted in the appeal of Florida to holiday makers, which can be seen clearly from statistics by the World Tourism Organisation.

The WTO states that Disney attractions account for 4 of the top 10 most visited in the world. Many of the world’s most famous cultural attractions such as the Egyptian pyramids or India’s Taj Mahal barely squeeze into the top 50 most visited. For investors, this statistics clearly show the appeal and demand of locations such as Florida for buy-to-let opportunities.

Aside from Disney, Florida features the excellent weather and reasonable proximity to many major cities in both North America and Europe. Golfing holidays hold strong appeal and the relaxed yet sophisticated cosmopolitan city atmosphere, surrounded by appealing beaches, continue to entice a large sector of the world’s tourist market.

Florida Provides Steady Capital Growth Potential

When comparing a real estate investment to stocks and shares, any downturns in the market occur with considerable less severity. Viewing how Florida has fared overall following the past 2 year downfall in the real estate sector, investors are continuing to consider entering the market, as Florida’s position has fared considerably better than the country as a whole. The future outlook for real estate in Florida almost guarantees a steady growth market, providing good capital returns and yield potential for early investors.

Previous growth of the Florida real estate market can provide investors with an impression of the market’s growth potential for the coming years. Coupled with the currency exchange rate advantages to foreign buyers, any strengthening of the US dollar will provide further growth on investments.

Government integration by assisting the stability of the real estate market, along with encouragement towards foreign investment, provides further security ensuring future growth potential of the market. Reforms to the financial lending sectors will assist with increasing stability to guard against future severe falls in the market, adding to long term growth potential and stability.

Florida Features Multiple Exit Strategies

The strong and continuous demand for real estate in Florida provides an ideal position to buyers when considering their exit strategies. Foreign investors are at a distinct advantage as improvements in the country’s economic issues over the coming years will draw additional buyers to re-enter the Florida housing market.

The population growth rates of Florida are amongst the highest across the country, with over 350,000 people moving to the state annually. For all types of real estate, the demand is strong in Florida. While the recent downturn has created an optimum buyers market opportunity, long term investors will benefit from the inevitable turnaround when the economy improves and the sector switches to a seller’s market, as it has been for many years in the past.

Prices are set to rise in Florida, providing a low risk investment in a highly sought after established market. The financial benefits of investing in Florida real estate are abundant, along with the opportunities for growth, returns and lifestyle opportunities. Buy-to-let investors benefit from year-round opportunities from the domestic market, while short term lettings provide returns for around 9 months of the year, considerably greater than many other holiday letting investment markets.