MIAMI – Dec. 16, 2010 – Foreign tourists are snapping up bargain-priced apartments and houses in Florida, taking advantage of such deals as $70,000 to $100,000 apartments in popular South Beach. Most buyers hail from Latin America, Europe and Canada.
“The buying opportunities are maybe the best ever. Who knows if we’ll see prices again like today’s in Miami Beach,” says Keyes Real Estate agent Michelle Iglesias.
High unemployment and foreclosure rates contributed to a 47 percent drop in housing prices in Miami since 2006, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price index, and experts credit foreign investors for preventing further price declines.
The Icon, a three-building apartment complex in Brickell, has sold 350 units over the past few months. Over the past two years, the units have fallen in price to $250,000 from $370,000.
“Most of the buyers are international, from countries like Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil and also Colombia, Italy, Mexico and Canada,” says Fortune International’s Alejandra Castillo.
Source: AFP (12/14/2010)
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