There has never been a better time to buy U.S. real estate
Canadians are flocking to the United States real estate market, taking advantage of price reductions and the strong Canadian dollar. Even though recent reports have painted a grim picture of the American property market, a closer look at local areas shows a huge variation -- from strong price increases in western regions such as Salem, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., to a surplus of properties in under-priced markets such as Florida and Nashville.
"We're continuing to see migration to warmer states as Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age," says Lawrence Yun, chief economist, National Association of Realtors (NAR). "Canadians can purchase at a 30% to 40% discount compared to what Americans would pay.
"So this is a great chance to leverage current prices into opportunities."
Elaine Russell, originally from Montreal, has been a real estate agent in Palm Beach County, Fla., since the 1980s. She says there has been an increased interest from Canadians, and she recently showed a property to a potential purchaser from Montreal.
"Boca Raton is just 20 minutes from the airport, and there's the five-star Boca Raton Resort and Club on 320 acres of land," Ms. Russell explains. "People like to come here because we have a lot of fabulous golf courses, great shopping, and fabulous restaurants, like Homestead, which is out of New York, and Chops, which is out of Atlanta. There is also boating, swimming, two convention centres and two performing arts centres.
"Typical buyers here are golfers in their 40s, 50s and 60s," says Ms. Russell, "and they want to be in one of our gated communities located on a golf course."
Woodfield Country Club and St. Andrews Country Club are two popular destinations for Canadians. Ms. Russell says these properties encompass single-family homes ranging from 3,000 to 3,500 square feet, and from $500,000 to US$2-million.
People looking for beach living are looking at condos in Boca Raton priced from US$400,000 to US$1.5-million for 1,500 to 2,500 sq. ft.
"Home prices in Florida, Nevada and Arizona will easily outpace national price growth over the next 10 years, making them good long-term investments," says Mr. Yun. "Miami is a ground-zero market, because sales volume has declined dramatically yet there are huge increases in inventory. There is a good opportunity for long-term growth here."