Tampa Homes – Increased Demand from Foreigners and Residents

Published by nora | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Market Trends, Miscellaneous, Real Estate

Tampa homes continue to be among the top performers of the Florida housing market. They’re in great demand both from the international and domestic market, as can be seen in reports from the National Association of Realtors, Metrostudy, National Association of Home Builders and other real estate research firms.

The Tampa-Clearwater and St. Petersburg metro area is the top choice among Canadian home buyers, accounting for 17 percent of all home sales to Canadians in the 12-month period from July 2010 to June this year. Tampa home purchases by Canadians are a great help to the Tampa housing market because 91 percent of purchases are all cash and 29 percent of homes bought are in the $100,000 to $200,000 price range.

Tampa homes are also among the favorites of buyers from the United Kingdom, Western European countries such as France and Germany, and Asian countries. Ten percent of all Florida home buyers from UK purchased homes in Tampa while nine percent of buyers from Western Europe targeted Tampa. In the past, UK buyers were the leaders in home buying in Tampa. They’re now surpassed by Canadians who are mostly looking for vacation or second homes.

Of the UK home buyers, 93 percent paid in all cash and 31 percent bought Tampa real estate in the $100,000 to $200,000 price range. The major purposes of 36 percent of buyers were to acquire properties for vacation and rental.

All in all, the Tampa-Clearwater-St. Petersburg area was the third most desired housing market in Florida among international home buyers. It was surpassed only by the Miami and Orlando metro areas.

Here are the performances of major metro areas in Florida as a percentage of total Florida home sales to the international market:

Metro Area	Percentage of Florida Sales to Foreign Buyers
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach	30 %
Orlando-Kissimmee	14 %
Tampa-Clearwater-St. Petersburg	11 %
Cape Coral-Fort Myers	8 %
Naples-Marco Island	6 %
Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice	4 %
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach	2 %
Jacksonville	2 %
Port St. Lucie	2 %
Gainesville	1 %
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville	1 %
Palm Coast	1 %
Punta Gorda	1 %
Other Areas	16 %

Prospective buyers of Tampa homes choose experienced, knowledgeable and helpful realtors – and among these are the real estate professionals of Tampa4U.Com.

For Foreign Home Buyers: Questions and Answers About Investing in U.S. Real Estate