US boosted by Canadians and Europeans

Bargain property in the US is attracting a lot of interest from foreign investors but some commentators are warning the downslide is not finished.

Those investing might have to weather price drops before there are rises but it isn't putting off Canadians and young European couples who are flooding agents with inquiries.

'The US is a buyers market. The weak Dollar and the strengthening Euro are contributing to the growing appeal of the USA to Sterling backed investors. In many areas it's a buyers' market, with unsold stock and a lack of available credit giving developers double the reasons to do a bargain deal,' said Dan Johnson, Managing Director of TheMoveChannel.com.

But investors should be diligent when evaluating potential purchases. 'Low cost doesn't always equal high value and there are plenty of commentators who feel that worse is to come for the US economy. Pick the wrong project, where the fundamentals don't underpin the long term viability, and you could still end up seeing immediate short term losses,' he warned.

'But if you're prepared to be patient and hold on for the long term, the months ahead will see plenty of bargains on offer.'

Certainly the Canadians are proof of this, snapping up property in a number of areas. Real Estate agents are even quoting prices in Canadian Dollars. 'There definitely is more interest in US properties,' said Mark Partin, president of Toronto-based Trailridge Property Corp.

While Americans are discouraged by images of neighborhoods blighted by "For Sale" signs and taped-off properties, foreign buyers are much more optimistic, especially about the long-term health of the US market. 'The foreign buyer has an unbridled confidence in the US market that is lacking in the domestic purchaser today. They view this as the bargain of a lifetime and are terribly excited about it,' said David Michonski, a certified international property specialist and CEO of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy in New York.

That profit potential is what convinced Londoner Grace Felix to start looking for a place near Fort Lauderdale, an area where she and her fiancée already spend about two weeks out of every three months. 'Hotels cost an arm and a leg,' she says. 'It makes better sense to buy and it's a good investment.'

Agent Jacqueline Christophe-Hayot, receives similar inquiries from French, British and Canadian buyers on a weekly basis. And, she says, these buyers aren't the stereotypical Florida-bound retiree, but rather 'the Miami beach crowd': 30-something professionals who plan to use the property for several weeks a year and rent it out the rest of the time.

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