Foreigners get `upper hand’ in Fla. housing market [South Florida]
From atop any gleaming, half-sold condo project, South Florida’s housing market looks bleak.
Viewed from abroad, it looks brighter.
Just like everyone else, foreigners turned away from Florida’s housing market as the downturn took hold. Now, international shoppers from Europe and Latin America to Canada and South Africa are again scoping out bargains, agents say.
So far, most shoppers are just looking, and high property taxes and maintenance fees and the tightening mortgage market are a deterrent. But the outsiders see opportunity: The U.S. dollar has slid to record lows against the euro and some other currencies, home prices are falling, and the selection is huge and getting bigger. And the region remains a safe haven for sheltering wealth from tyrants and turmoil.