The latest winter season appears to be one of the best things ever to have happened to Florida in the area of residential real estate. The state currently ranks high in jumbo loan volume for its residential real estate. Both primary homes and secondary homes are in demand.
Jumbo lending is being driven by markets such as Miami Beach, where the median home price is nearly $3 million. Here, a waterfront estate can sell for as much as $40 million. Other areas with a high volume of jumbo lending include Naples-Marco Island and the Fort Lauderdale area.
The median sale price for homes in the state is currently a little more than $203,000, which is far below the limit of a little more than $400,000 for loans backed by the government. In June, single-family housing sales were up by almost 20 percent compared with one year ago. In addition, condo sales had increased by nearly 15 percent from a year prior. One main reason for the strong interest in Florida is that people are tired of spending their winters in cold parts of the United States and are thus buying vacation homes.
Florida is also drawing the interest of self-employed individuals because its environment is business friendly, and the state has no state income tax. Foreign buyers, such as those from South America and France, are additionally drawn to the state. An applied understanding of residential real estate laws may help both buyers and sellers successfully navigate their real estate transactions and achieve personally satisfactory outcomes in the Sunshine State.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, "Winter-Weary Home Buyers Heading to Florida", Anya Martin, Aug. 19, 2015