Written by

Eric Glasser

North Redington Beach, Florida — If you really want to sell that house in this tough real estate market, you might want to consider advertising it north of the border.

New figures are out that show many of the buyers who are in the market are coming into Florida from outside the U.S.

According to a new survey from the National Association of Realtors, one in four homes now being sold in Florida is purchased by a foreign buyer. The biggest group? Canadians.

“The beach, the water, can’t beat it,” said Steve Barnes, who is enjoying a day of mini-golf at Smuggler’s Cove in North Redington Beach.

Barnes’ brother is among the thousands of Canadians who’ve decided now is the time to buy real estate in Florida. Now the whole family visits from Toronto, where the Sunshine State is heavily marketed.

“Daily, you see ads in the paper of how to buy Florida real estate,” said Barnes. “You never saw that two years ago.”

The economic reasons are pretty simple. A Canadian dollar used to be worth about 80 percent of a US dollar. These days, they’re basically even or on par. That, and lower prices have made for an attractive combination.

“We welcome them,” says Re/Max Real Estate Broker Steve Busse.

Busse, who specializes in foreign buyers, says waterfront is the hottest commodity. He also says he saw more buyers from other countries outside the U.S. this year. Many were Europeans  whose currencies are not tied to the Euro.

“Anywhere from 20 percent to 30 percent of my buyers were either Czech, Polish or Russian,” he said.

The trend suggests that if you want to sell in this tough real estate market, think globally.

Busse says sellers should place listings on Canadian city Craigslist sites and also consider foreign newspapers.

It may be worth it, since there’s now a one in four chance your buyer may not even be an American.

Experts say another advantage of selling to foreign buyers is that 90 percent of them pay cash.

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Article source: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/article/219443/8/Foreigners-gobbling-up-Bay-area-real-estate