June 30, 2007

Brits getting slaughtered in Florida housing "spectacular collapse"

Property-mad Brits (they love their housing ladder), who also love going to Florida on holiday (why for the life of me I can't figure out) are getting destroyed now that Florida's housing market is crashing.


And it's not just the price cuts - if they borrowed from their bank in GBP the exchange rate and transfer fees to US$ are killing them too.

Bollocks!!!

Funniest thing is you have conmen and sweet talkers still aggressively courting ignorant property-mad Brits to invest in Florida property. Take this one for example. Or this one. Crashing market? Terrible fundamentals? Exchange rate nightmare? Nah! Now's a great time to buy!

Florida is a HOT market for Foreign National's to purchase both Second Homes and Investment Properties.

This is a great time and a great market for their purchases. With the weak dollar and the strong Euro and British Sterling, European investment in Florida is at an all time high!

However, here's the truth, thanks to the Daily Mail:

Britons count the cost of the Florida property slump

Hundreds of British investors who pumped their money into Florida's soaring housing market have been caught out in its spectacular collapse.

Many bought apartments off-plan, hoping to sell them on at a huge profit as soon as they were built.

However, they have been left with property they can't sell - even for less than the original price - because of rising interest rates and a glut of condominiums for sale.

Florida house prices have been plunging for 18 months, but research shows investors in high-rise condos have been hurt the most.

15 comments:

foxwoodlief said...

Problem is only if they borrowed pounds to pay for the house. If they borrowed dollars they are ahead of the game as the homes are even cheaper. If you didn't buy back in 2005 and now take your euros or pounds to buy you get more bang for your buck than in most places in europe.

NY Times also said home values going up again in Britain. So who knows where this merry-go-round will end and who has the brass ring.

Homes are selling here in Phoenix...not at the hot pace of two years ago but at the historic mean...and close to what people are asking unless in a far-out subdivision, investor dominated sub-division...or short sales...which are still fetching more than those homes would have sold for in 2004.

The market is as schizophrenic as ever. I've been waiting for this collapse for seven years....still sitting on the fence for any furture investments. Own one home in Austin, rent in Phoenix, can afford for my house in Austin to sit empty as I don't want to be a landlord and bought it to retire in and I couldn't touch a dump here in Phoenix for the same price....which shows you how out of touch Phoenix prices are.

Still know/meet a lot of people with a lot of money and only the subprime folk seem to be hurting and they were hurting before someone lent them money to buy a house they couldn't afford.

blogger said...

Anyone find it funny that the UK media is reporting "spectacular collapse", while many in our media (and the NAR) are still saying everything's gonna be hunky dory?

Anonymous said...

At the same time the UK media is pumping up their bubble. It all has to do with revenue$ from ads

Anonymous said...

Well when you don't spend money on dental care you may as well buy some overpriced real estate.

Anonymous said...

All Things Considered, June 30, 2007 · Scotland's largest airport grounded all flights Saturday after two men rammed a flaming vehicle into the main terminal. This comes just one day after authorities thwarted two potential bombings in London.

British officials raised the terror alert to "critical" - the highest possible level - and the Bush administration announced plans to increase security at airports and on mass transit.

Two suspectswere arrested at the Glasgow Airport. One, his body engulfed in flames as police pulled him from the still-burning vehicle, was hospitalized.

Anonymous said...

I spent some time in Orlando and I swear Brit tourists were the most fucking annoying humans I have ever encountered. And WTF is it with Brits and the sun? You could spot the Brit by the fact they looked like lobesters. Hey assholes, it's called sunscreen, look into it.

Unknown said...

Well, the tanking US dollar should help them.
If (when?) it goes lower, then their debt is also lowered...

Anonymous said...

Its funny how the Florida papers (Miami Herald in particular) minimize the fall in prices. I agree with Keith, why would anybody want to spend time in Florida? I can see shome poor schmuck from Jersey thinking its paradise, but a brit who can say get a place in Spain or Portugal? Cleary not the aesthetics of the place but a desire to flib and make dough is what was driving brits to Fla. Florida has always been the land of scams and the latest REIC scam was the biggest of all. All the local spin cannot hide the fact that the place is ugly, crime infested, expensive, has crappy schools and is about as close to a 3rd world country as we have in the U.S. Sadly, FLA is proably a sneak preview of what the rest of the formerly great U.S. will become. Scams, service workers, incapable of producing anything,,,, How could they have fallen for it? Testament to the power of the big lie--Florida is paradise....Its Missisippi with better beaches and hispanics everywhere....Oops not to insult mississippi!

FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...

@ The Big Lie,

Whats wrong did you buy a bunch of condos on Miami Beach and Lose your A$$??
I am glad you people think that, stay away and leave paradise to us natives.
It was nice before the transplants moved here.

Florida Native

Markus Arelius said...

No Keith, the Brits are just "taking the Mickey"..

Anonymous said...

"Well when you don't spend money on dental care you may as well buy some overpriced real estate."

I so wish I was American, then I could have a mouthful of ceramic tombstone teeth also.

Anonymous said...

What I have learned on HP:

Flordia: bad
Arizona: bad
Las Vegas: bad
Atlanta: bad
OC: bad

According to you freaks, every city is a shithole, every state is not worth living in, every tourist area is not worth going to.

I cannot imagibe what it must be like to live in such a perpetual funk.

Anonymous said...

You said,..
Whats wrong did you buy a bunch of condos on Miami Beach and Lose your A$$??
I am glad you people think that, stay away and leave paradise to us natives.
It was nice before the transplants moved here.

Yes, before the transplants arrived? What is Florida but all transplants are you a Seminole? When exactly was it nice? Without transplants and cheesy tourism what exactly is it you do? Oh yeah trade with the dynamic carribiean economies and cocaine? Oh yeah and oldsters on Social Security, and beaches you can't surf in... Yeah some version of Paradise.....the delusions of floridians.....

Florida Native

July 01, 2007 3:16 PM

David A. Podgursky, Boynton Beach Lake Worth Realtor - Boca Executive Realty said...

I love panic mongers...
The market was fantastic and like anything that goes up, it had to come down.

The thing your panic-filled blog seems to forget is that:
* there were plenty of Britons who bought before the apex who are still ahead of the game.
* rents are still strong so those who have property are getting cash flows
* anyone who bought over the last 18 months had issues... but the market did appreciate around 5.15% in Palm Beach County last year.

Also... now IS a great time to buy... the cornerstone of wealth building is knowing to BUY LOW and SELL HIGH. If someone didn't get out when the prices were super high, then that's a calculated risk they took.

Now, prices and rates are LOW so it is a great time to buy. As prices etc go up, so will rents... so investors will earn. As the dollar comes back - the same investors will earn even more.

Your points are lost in a swirling vortex of misinformation.

Anonymous said...

"Your points are lost in a swirling vortex of misinformation."

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Mr. Greed has just recently been introduced to Mr. Fear.

- the Newt

for a hint as to what Florida real estate will be like in the years to come, study up on their last housing / property crash in the 20's.