The United States has been the Promised Land, the land of opportunity and the home of the Big American Dream all rolled into one for so long, that property prices in the major metropolitan cities of this country have been hitting highs during 2006. But the USA is so huge, with so many great urban centers, great small towns and open spaces that there is no dearth of land for any investor, small or big. It is the world’s largest economy at $13 trillion, supporting 300 million people over a land area of almost 10 million square kilometers, the third largest in the world. Everything is big here, and there is plenty of room for everyone. A consumption economy, as it has been called, the USA is one of the largest markets for goods and services in the world.
The property market in America had hit a record for the fifth year in a row in 2005, says the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and 2006 has also been a good sales year for them. The market has been firm and the prices have come off the high of the previous year but remained at a solid level, making for a realistic and balanced scenario. Language and the affordability of transatlantic travel make the USA a popular European overseas investment property market.
The highest priced real estate is said to be in San Francisco, and Texas is touted as the best place to live. The NAR named Florida the market with the fastest appreciation in the US, with the upcoming locations seeing a price rise of up to 40% in the year 2005. The perfect weather has something to do with it, and so do the sunny beaches. Miami offers some gorgeous beaches, sensational nightlife and glamorous neighborhoods that are home to A-list Hollywood stars. In fact, Miami, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale are amongst the popular real estate investment properties in the US due to heavy tourist traffic from all over the world creating a demand for rental accommodation. Orlando is home to Disney World, a huge tourist attraction.
Spacious Florida homes typically come in full villa style, with open air pools and beautiful views of the ocean. This brings in a lot of holiday home seekers, and the competitive prices attract home buyers and investors alike. In comparison to Europe or even other places in the US, Florida offers affordable real estate and a chance for capital appreciation in the right locations. For Europeans, the favorable dollar conversion rate also adds to the charm of purchasing a house in the US.
Las Vegas is also a much talked about area right now, with capital appreciation seeing growth numbers of 30% year on year at some locations. Further, New York and New Jersey are also seeing good demand, though prices are not escalating like the rest of the country. For low prices and low returns, the country living in the American Midwest can offer you a fairly good-sized house for as little as $100,000. Farm houses with plenty of land and structures attached are also available at great low prices here.
Holiday homes are best purchased along the West and East coasts (Florida, California, near New York or Washington DC, the Hamptons etc.) and at the ski resorts in the Rockies (Colorado, etc) and glamorous destinations like Las Vegas.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment