South Florida Real Estate Market in Recovery

Driving around South Florida, you will notice significantly fewer "For Sale" signs than just a few months ago. A signal that the South Florida real estate market is on the road to recovery, thanks to bargain deals, cheap financing and federal tax incentives.

Newly released real estate figures show single-family home sales are up 47% and multi-family condo sales are up by 81% from 2009. This suggests that the real estate market is beginning to stabilize in South Florida.

Retirement Visas May Save Florida Real Estate Market

Florida is considering the implementation of a federal retirement visa policy in order to create new jobs, increase economic output and put more money in Floridians' pockets. The creation of a retirement visa may advance investment and demand in the Florida real estate market, which would benefit Florida as a whole. 

A retirement visa is an immigration authorization that allows foreigners meeting asset and age requirements to retire in the U.S. Currently, this special immigration program does not exist in the United States.

It is projected that hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created and sustained from the increased investment in the housing market if the retirement visa is implemented. By 2018, an additional $25 billion in gross state product, $44 billion in total sales and $15 billion in Floridians' disposable income could result from the immigration program. 

The retirement visa would attract long-term visitors from around the world who are willing to invest and consume in Florida. With a large percentage of foreign home buyers living in Florida already, this is a creative and new option which may have a positive effect on the housing market and Florida's economy as a whole. Nearly 30% of real estate transactions in Florida are with an international buyer, but the current immigration laws prohibit many foreigners from residing in the U.S. year round. The retirement visa would jump-start the housing economy and encourage international trade, tourism and commerce.

Florida's Population Projected to Increase Despite Economy

Florida is one of the states which has been most affected by the economic recession, especially in terms of mortgages and foreclosures. However, Florida's residential real estate market may find relief in the projected population increases for our state. 

Florida has long been one of the fastest growing states, both from natural population growth and foreign and domestic migration. Everyone knows a lot of people come to Florida to retire, but many middle aged and young people across the world also move to Florida in search of work. 

Since the recession began in 2007, Florida's population has been steadily increasing at a rate of over 200,000 residents per year. From 2010 to 2020 this number is expected to increase to over 300,000 residents a year - on par with the population boom of the 1980s and '90s. 

This increase is due to the surge of baby boom retirees and the abundance of new job opportunities in Florida's metropolitan areas. Tourism, technology, international trade and business services are all fields that attract 20-50 year olds to Florida's cities. Many of these new residents of Florida travel from New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, U.K and Canada to take advantage of Florida's diverse economy.

The US Census has projected that by 2010, Florida will overtake New York as the third most populated state.