Wealthy Buyers are Buying Vacation & Second Homes Like Hotcakes in Miami, Cali, Phoenix and Dallas!

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Great piece in the New York Times recently telling you what I’ve been telling you: wealthy buyers are out snapping up deals on vacation properties. This is probably the best time ever to buy a second home. As the experts tell us, don’t buy it for any reason other than to enjoy and use it. Of course, you can always lease it out for income-producing property. According to the National Association of Realtors, Miami sales were up 34.1% this September compared to last year. And while prices are bargain-basement, buyers are biting as much as or more than they did in 2005:

“According to a separate report by the Miami Association of Realtors released last month, sales in Miami were on pace to hit 29,000 this year, higher than the record set in 2005. That said, prices are nowhere near what they were in those frothier days. While condo prices rose 17 percent in September, they were coming off a very low base; prices for single-family homes continued to fall, down 6 percent to $131,000.”

And in Miami, 63% of buyers paid cash for these homes, compared to 30% of the buyers financing second homes in the rest of the country. Buyers are looking at bargains in Phoenix, California and, agents tell me, Dallas, too: buyers are flocking in to Dallas from Mexico and South America, buying up condos and boosting the market. Of course, they all want bargains, and many feel property is a great hedge against future inflation:

Marlon Young, chief executive of HSBC’s private bank in the Americas, said many of his wealthy clients in Latin America, particularly Brazil, were buying upward of 20 properties in hard-hit vacation areas like Florida and California just for this reason.

“They’ve increased their exposure to real estate from 10 to 15 percent to 15 to 30 percent” of their overall portfolios, Mr. Young said, adding, “If you can buy real estate at or just slightly above replacement cost, that is a screaming buy for these clients. They’re not new to the real estate market.”

Candy Evans

Candy Evans

8 Comments

  1. […] as much as Miami, where 60% of home sales now are pure, cold cash, much of it foreign. Share the […]



  2. […] as much as Miami, where 60% of home sales now are pure, cold cash, much of it foreign. Share the […]



  3. […] up in places you’d expect, like sunny Florida, now Dallas is making the list too! Second Shelters says, “Buyers are looking at bargains in Phoenix, California and, agents tell me, Dallas, […]



  4. […] up in places you’d expect, like sunny Florida, now Dallas is making the list too! Second Shelters says, “Buyers are looking at bargains in Phoenix, California and, agents tell me, Dallas, […]



  5. Geordie Romer | Leavenworth WA on November 14, 2011 at 10:17 am

    Wow! Those are some impressive rebounds. Our market here has certainly improved and I do get the sense that consumers feel like the worst is behind us. A little more stability in the equity markets would help, but I'm not holding my breath for that.



  6. Geordie Romer | Leavenworth WA on November 14, 2011 at 10:17 am

    Wow! Those are some impressive rebounds. Our market here has certainly improved and I do get the sense that consumers feel like the worst is behind us. A little more stability in the equity markets would help, but I'm not holding my breath for that.



  7. Jennifer Knight on November 14, 2011 at 11:22 am

    I'm currently looking for a condo in Miami and can attest to the number of buyers milling around, especially from Latin America! There often are two or more realtors with clients in the same elevator, but prices still seem very negotiable.



  8. Jennifer Knight on November 14, 2011 at 11:22 am

    I'm currently looking for a condo in Miami and can attest to the number of buyers milling around, especially from Latin America! There often are two or more realtors with clients in the same elevator, but prices still seem very negotiable.