dck
加入时间: 2004/04/02
文章: 2801
经验值: 4649
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作者：dck 在 罕见奇谈 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org
Hot loonie helps make U.S. sunbelt affordable
Made in the shade?
CANCUN, MEXico–For Roberto Flores Castrejón, owner of an Isla Mujeres luxury resort called Casa de los Sueños, the gaudy four-level home next door that blocks a quarter of his pool-deck ocean view is daily confirmation of his worst fears.
Property values have also melted in Florida
Oct 06, 2007 04:30 AM
Mark Keast
Special to the Star
Sure, a shopping trip to Buffalo might net you a deal or two now that the loonie has soared to parity with the U.S. dollar, but after a prolonged slump in the U.S. real estate market, the hottest stateside bargains for Canadians might be retirement and vacation properties in Florida and Arizona.
"Canadian purchasing power has been rolled back to 2000 prices because of the rise in the dollar," says Tom Doyle, a Naples, Fla.-area realtor who runs the naplesinsider.com website. And if you add in significant price declines on luxury homes since the speculator bubble of 2004 and 2005 burst, Doyle says there is plenty of inventory in the pipeline – and bargains – for Canadians.
A 1,400-square-foot condo that Doyle says was selling at its peak in the fall of 2005 at $415,000 (all figures U.S.) would list for $250,000 today. Prices overall are 35 per cent off their peak, back to 2004 levels for U.S. buyers, he says, though beachfront property values remain largely unchanged.
Economist Noah Blackstein, writing last week for thestreet.com, says Canadians might be wise to move quickly, now that the Canadian dollar is at par.
"While U.S. real estate prices may have more downside, I would seize the opportunity of parity and buy now, and enjoy for the rest of your life," Blackstein says.
Joel Wynne, president and CEO of South Florida's Wynne Building Corp., says he remembers selling lots of houses to Canadians in the 1970s, before the loonie went for an extended dive.
"Right now there's a buyer's market, and with the Canadian dollar being what it is, it makes everything look like a bargain," he says.
"But to be honest, we haven't seen anywhere near the drop in prices we were expecting. But I do expect prices to go down (in the near future)."
Sally Daley, of Daley and Co. real estate calls it "a rare buyers market," with a 15 to 20 per cent drop in prices over the past two years creating bargains all over Florida.
As you might expect, she touts her local area, Vero Beach, saying it's particularly attractive because it's not overbuilt. "The Vero area's tough zoning and density (regulations) assure buyers that their investment won't be diluted by future sprawl," she says.
Walter Molony, spokesman for the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors, says Canadians will "need to do their homework," but adds that there are bargains out there, especially in Florida, with its glut of inventory.
Molony says second-quarter NAR statistics (April, May, June) showed condo sales in Florida to be flat, and he is expecting prices to have gone down when third-quarter statistics are released.
During the second quarter, prices in Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg were down 3.2 per cent, while Sarasota saw a 3.5-per-cent decrease, according to NAR statistics. Miami and Fort Lauderdale were largely unchanged. In Arizona, Phoenix condo prices rose 1.4 per cent during the spring quarter, but Tucson saw a 10.2-per-cent decrease.
Though purchase prices may appear to a bargain, Molony says a big factor people need to keep in mind if they are thinking about buying in the U.S. is the skyrocketing cost of insurance, especially in coastal areas.
作者：dck 在 罕见奇谈 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org |
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美国房价能否被加拿大元救活？－－现在是加拿大人捡便宜的时机？
