It is a Great time to Buy in FORT MYERS ,FLORIDA
In this newsletter:
1. Oh Canada, Oh Ontario, Eh Heritage Palms Party date for fall 2010
2. Search like a Realtor-- Looking for listings, check out our Rentals and YES we do HOUSE
Watch
3. New web link to check out our beaches from Heritage Palms or Canada- Your going to love it!
4. Do You have friends or relatives that are still looking for a home in Heritage Palms or Southwest Florida?
Oh Canada, Oh Ontario, Eh Heritage Palms Party date for fall 2010
Party Time 5:30 PM -- November 11th 2010--Lodge -mark this date on your calendar
Search like a Realtor-- Looking for listings, check out our Rentals and YES we do HOUSE WATCH
go to www.HeritagePalmsProperties.com next to HOME is PROPERTY SEARCH (click it)
SEARCH entire MLS
Private Listings & Rentals
Also Lew & I are here year around for all your real estate needs including
HOME WATCH-
New web link to check out our local beaches from Heritage Palms or even Canada go to www.HeritagePalmsProperties.com click on Local Info then go to
Beach Conditions - you will see updated daily photos of the beaches and water conditions.
Do you have friends or relatives that are looking for a home in Heritage Palms or South West
Florida
Low U.S. home prices, high loonie make it a good time to be a Canadian snowbird
TORONTO – Aug. 6, 2010 – Mary and Ron Ethier long believed a getaway home in the Florida sun would remain a retirement dream, but when a recent real estate turnaround opened the border to a growing flock of snowbirds, the couple suddenly saw an opportunity too tempting to pass up.
“We just felt with the prices that were happening down there, that it was out of our reach financially,” said Mary Ethier from her home in Pembroke, Ont. “But when their real estate market basically took a big hit and the Canadian dollar came up, we thought if we’re ever going to do it, now’s the time to get off our butts and go and do it.”
The couple, too busy with their lawn-care franchise to enjoy Ontario summers, toured homes in the Fort Myers, Fla., area in the fall of 2007 and made a lowball offer, expecting to negotiate, but instead found their deal accepted.
By January, they owned a condo in a gated community, a property foreclosed upon when the U.S. housing bubble burst and home prices began to plummet and many American homeowners realized they could no longer pay their mortgages.
The loonie has since risen to hover around parity while U.S. home prices have stagnated, creating new financial incentives for Canadians to act fast and scoop up American real estate deals.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for Canadians,” says Mark Dziedzic, a Canadian Realtor with Cross Border Realty and a snowbird himself..
Prices in most U.S. regions have steadied after falling for three years, but a high number of foreclosures persist, lowering prices, especially in Florida and Nevada, said Bank of Montreal mortgage specialist Laura Parsons.
“This is the time to buy if you’re going to,” she said.
“I think you’ve got to look at this as a long-term investment because you’re getting such a deal. You’re going to have to hang on to it for a while,” and ride out any further downturns before the market picks up again, she said.
There is a fine balance between rushing to buy and waiting for lower prices. Economists predict the U.S. housing market will remain soft, but it’s futile to make decisions based on where a currency or a housing market is going.
“I don’t think you need to rush down and get a place, but the good stuff in the lower price range ... those are moving. The good ones come up and they’re sold,” Dziedzic said.
Buying real estate in the U.S. is becoming easier for Canadians as more snowbirds snap up getaway homes.
© The Canadian Press 2010