Foreclosures Make for Hot Florida Property Investments

Ocala, Florida has seen home prices drop lately and the sales of single- family homes have increased as the abundance of foreclosures abound. With the struggling economy and higher unemployment rate, it seems as if now is the time for those wanting to relocate to Florida to purchase that retirement or winter home.

It appears that property prices for residential homes last month in Marion County were at levels that we haven’t seen since the 1990’s. The average median home price decreased from $87,800 in November 2009 to $75,900 in November 2010. That is a significant 14 percent drop and the biggest percentage drop in the Florida metropolitan area.

The home prices in Ocala have been decreasing for about three years now due to the recession and double digits unemployment rate. Home investors at home and abroad are taking advantage of the price decline and buying up investment properties. According to MLS surveys, just last month in November, realtors sold 269 residential homes compared to 251 a year ago in 2009. That is a 7 percent increase in sales mainly due to the amount of foreclosures on the market. The past year has seen many more foreclosures and distressed sales due to the struggling economy.

Almost 630 homes were on the foreclosure list in November, which equals out to one in every 251 homes were looking at foreclosure. With so many foreclosures, investors have taken advantage of such a prime market to buy up homes for short or long term rentals in the hopes of gaining significant returns in the future.

Australia’s Booming Property Market Attracting Attention of Investors

Australia’s housing market continues to grow stronger and is anticipated to remain a strong contender for drawing property investors in the upcoming year. Australia and Canada have been competing neck and neck but it seems that Australia is pulling away as Canada’s real estate sales are cooling down.

Due to low interest rates as well as economies beginning to recover, global markets have seen some rebounding this year. It has been reported that house prices rose in six of twelve industrialized countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K.

Low interest rates and a strong and stable economy attract first time buyers as well as property investors looking to capitalize on the real estate market’s abundance of affordable homes. Investors have confidence that their investments will yield good size returns in years to come as the property market continues to grow strong and house values rise.

Some of the success of the property market will depend on factors such as job growth as well an income growth. Interest rates and lending rules play important roles as well. Interest rates are expected to stay relatively the same throughout next year which will help keep the market stable. Australia seems to be doing well as solid job growth is reported and high demand comes from Asia.

Other areas of the world are seeing some growth as well. The U.K. and Swiss markets are seeing some recovery and it is reported that Sweden is actually experiencing somewhat of a mini-boom. In Italy house prices are dropping some and the U.S. market is becoming more stable.

Malaysian Property Market Recovering Rapidly

Malaysia’s property market anticipates growth in the upcoming year as the economy enjoys stability and growth as well, peaking the interest of overseas investors. This is good news for Malaysia as much of the world has been hit pretty hard by economic struggles.

The Fourth Malaysian Property Summit is scheduled to be held on January 18^th, 2011 in Kuala Lumpur and will include various speakers from fields such as developers, property owners, bankers, investors, and economists. Talk of property investment potential will likely be a main topic.

James Wong, a property consultant, says that there is a huge demand for property in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. As property prices rise, it is important that the government come up with incentives to boost income to help the growth of the economy as property market and the economy oftentimes go hand in hand.

It will be essential that the Economic Transformation Programme set clear guidelines on Private Finance Initiatives so that proper funding can come from private initiatives.

It is reported that market prices have set record highs and the interest rates remain low presently. Investors from all over the world are interested in this prime location. Chinese investors already invest highly in Australia and Singapore and buyers are hopeful that they will be seeing more of such investors in Malaysia. Along with China, investors from Singaporean and Hong Kong are also interested in Malaysian properties.

It will be interesting to see just how much growth Malaysia will see in the upcoming year.

US Housing Market Thought to Have Lost $1.7 Trillion of Value in 2010

Zillow, the US's second largest property portal has predicted that the value of US homes will be down $1.7 trillion this year compared to last year.

This, compared to the $1 trillion loss in value last year compared to 2008, represents a 63% larger decline, and means that the US housing market has lost $9 trillion in value since the collapse began in 2006. While many markets around the world have apparently fallen faster and harder than the states, few can match a decline like that.

As we would expect, the portal reports that the largest falls happened in the second half of the year. With the homebuyer tax credit propping up the market, the housing market lost $700 billion in the first half, and with the tax credit rug firmly pulled out from below prices the second half loss is predicted to be $1 trillion according to Zillow.

"It's a testament to the nearly irresistible force of the overall market correction that government incentives can only temporarily hold back the tide, and that the market will ultimately find its natural equilibrium of supply and demand," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries.

And it may not get much better.

"Unfortunately, with foreclosures near an all-time high in late 2010 and high rates of negative equity persisting, it does not appear that the first part of 2011 will bring much relief," Humphries said.

While the value of homes in Boston increased by $10.8 billion and those in San Diego by $10.2 billion, it was the most overvalued cities which really dragged the overall picture down. In New York, the value of homes has fallen a whopping $103.7 billion this year, and in Los Angeles it has fallen by $38.7 billion.

According to the big investment banks, the American economy is turning around, the picture seems to be continuing to worsen for the housing market.

According to reports in the third quarter, 23.2% of single family home owners owed more on their mortgage than the value of the property, up from 21.8% in the third quarter of 2009. Until defaults and repossessions are brought under control, and the backlog of properties sold there is unlikely to be any recovery. Of course, with investors snapping up properties at 60% below their replacement costs and earning 10% yields on tenanted properties, many are in no rush for recovery anyway.

Investors Seek next Hotspot as Thai Property Recovers

We are all hearing about the revival of Asian property markets, and while much less talked about than China and India we know from recent reports that Thailand is now starting to see its share of this revival.

In the early-mid noughties when the great global property boom was finding its feet, Thailand was powering out of the Asian economic crash and Bangkok property prices were among the fastest growing in the world.

While Bangkok property is still expensive and thought to be on its money if not a little over valued, people are finding investment opportunities in new areas as they seek to find the Bangkok of this economic recovery.

Pattaya is definitely a contender to this throne. Pattaya is exactly what we are looking for in an Asian investment hotspot, it is an urban/suburban area, set to grow into a metropolis and with demand for housing growing far more quickly than supply. Oh, and property is cheap.

Take the new development from Azure Overseas, Art on the Hill is an equisite development offering fully-furnished 1 bedroom apartments in the Pratumnak district of Pattaya from £21,000. The development, which is located just 5 minutes from downtown Pattaya is complete with:

• Rooftop Pool
• Secure Underground Parking
• 24 Hour Security
• Modern Design
• 400 Meters from Pratumnak's best beaches
• Family Friendly Neighbourhood
• Close to all local shops and amenities