Why buy or rent real estate in Florida?

I first visited Florida over 20 years ago and fell in love with the sunshine state in America!

I visited Miami, Fort Lauderdale, the Florida Keys, and upmarket Naples on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

In 2009, I returned to Florida, spending a month there in the winter and ended up buying a property in my beloved Naples.
I’ve been back in 2010 and 2011 so far.
We’re looking forward to wintering there each year.

Properties are now 50 – 80% off their peak values in Florida, offering potentially perfect investment conditions.

Background to America’s state of Florida

It’s known as the ‘Sunshine State’, and Florida has the 4th largest population of any state in America with over 18 million people residing there.
It is one of the largest states in the USA. There is a wide range of housing ranging from detached family homes, to condominiums and multi-million
dollar mansions located around the highly desirable Gulf Coast in areas such as Naples (that’s where my wife and I bought in 2010 and at 80% off!) and Fort Myers.

Florida has the 4th largest economy in the US. The average income per capita in Florida is $38,417, ranking 20th across all states in the USA.

One of the main areas of interest for many people visiting Florida is the expansive Disney World resorts located just outside Orlando.
Disney World attracts almost 60 million tourists to Florida each year, providing a multi-billion dollar contribution to the local economy through
shops, restaurants and family entertainment. Disney World is currently ranked as the number one tourist destination in the USA.

Traditionally, the coastal regions of the USA have seen huge growth in property prices over the years, and Florida is no different.
However, the global recession over the past few years has hit Florida particularly hard.
Could be a great time to invest!

Real Estate Prices in Florida

The reductions in values are not all bad news for clued up property investors. Some of the worst affected cities in the USA are located in Florida
(Miami is now seeing record low property values) allowing cash rich investors the rare opportunity to take advantage of massively distressed
property prices, buying with discounts up to 80% below their peak values.

Condominiums (apartments) provide some incredible opportunities for buy-to-let investors looking for pre-tenanted units, which can often return double digit net rental yields.

All of this means that there is now a superb chance for buyers to purchase their dream holiday home or a great value investment property that could return fantastic net rental yields,
plus potentially excellent long-term capital appreciation.

Sunshine on the horizon…

With the US housing market showing signs of recovery, and government-backed incentives to get people back into the property market seeming to work,
Florida’s property market may have seen the worst of a turbulent few years. More people are now buying property and prices are stabilising.

However, this is now the time to buy, taking advantage of massive price drops on real estate or properties that are not going to be around forever at these prices.
If ever you wanted to grab a little sunshine for your life, this could well be the time and place to do it, like we did!
To find out more, please visit http://realestateforsaleorrentinflorida.co.uk