Total sales of Florida homes to foreigners down 50% since 2017

The flow of foreign homebuyers purchasing U.S. properties has plummeted over the past two years, a downturn that might help explain why the lackluster performance of Florida’s housing market hasn’t mirrored the booming economy. After hitting a record $153 billion for the period from April 2016 to March 2017, total sales of U.S. homes to international buyers fell to $121 billion for the year ending in March 2018, then to $77.9 billion for the year ending in March 2019. See the report from the National Association of Realtors and read more from the Palm Beach Post and the Destin Log.

See also:
» Foreigners Are Buying Less U.S. Real Estate—So What's the Impact?
» Foreign purchases of American homes plunge 36% as Chinese buyers flee the market
» Foreign Buying of U.S. Homes Suffers Record Drop

Florida's female real estate leaders on how they broke through

Not everyone would remember the first time they looked at a federal housing loan statement as one of their life's greatest moments. But OneWorld Properties CEO Peggy Olin, like many of the women who have reached the upper echelon of the male-dominated commercial real estate industry, is wired to stand out. "I'll never forget the first day that I was curious enough to look at a file and review a HUD statement. It was the best day of my life," Olin recalled at Bisnow's Miami Power Women event last week. [Source: Bisnow]

Real estate and sea level rise: A buyer’s guide

In the Tampa Bay area, Pinellas County is teaching real estate agents how to field questions about flooding — an increasingly common concern when homebuyers talk to Realtors. “They really are the boots on the ground for all of the floodplain managers everywhere,” said Lisa Foster, the county’s floodplain administrator. She developed the Real Estate Flood Disclosure training program, a first of its kind in Florida. Realtors are eager, she said, to take the classes on everything from flood mapping tools to building regulations and flood insurance. [Source: WUFT]

The states with the biggest share of vacation rentals aren’t where you’d think

Year-round sunshine didn’t help Florida make it to the top of this vacation rental ranking. The states with the highest percentage of vacation homes are clustered in the Northeast. When it comes to vacation homes, fresh lobster and the opportunity to play in fresh powder is apparently more appealing than year-round sunshine. Maine has the highest percentage of vacation homes in the U.S., followed by Vermont and New Hampshire. More from Bloomberg and The Real Deal.

SWFL real estate market is booming

After the blue-green algae crisis pummeled Southwest Florida, home values and sales sank. But not anymore. Now, clean water may be helping fuel a renewed real estate boom. Jeff Tumbarello, the director of SWFL Real Estate Investment Association, said his business woes were likely a combination of the water crisis and the market. “Florida has always been this boom-bust,” Tumbarello said. “But since basically 2016, we look like Ohio or Pennsylvania. It’s just boring. Nobody really knows how to work it.” [Source: WINK News]

ALSO TRENDING:

› How E-commerce is affecting South Florida’s industrial real estate market [Miami Herald]
As the ability to purchase an item online and find it on your doorstep within a day, and in some cases a matter of hours, has become the norm, it’s also had a dramatic impact on the commercial real estate landscape across the country. And South Florida is no exception.

› Florida Realtors® 2019 Convention & Trade Expo offers success strategies, tips to boost business [Florida Trend]
Success strategies from top industry leaders, the latest in high-tech devices and a chance to network with other real estate professionals: That's what the Florida Realtors® 2019 Convention & Trade Expo offers – opportunities to boost business and the bottom line.

› Industrial vacancy rates increases in Jacksonville area [Florida Times-Union]
Industrial shop vacancy has increased on the First Coast. Colliers Northeast Florida issued its second-quarter report that shows there is a 4.3 percent vacancy rate at industrial sites. Part of that rate was blamed on Sears and General Electric vacating industrial operations in the past year, though GE has already agreed to fill the space vacated by Sears.

› Sarasota-Manatee home prices rise to near pre-recession peaks [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
After wild swings before and after the economic downturn, home prices are inching closer to their pre-recession peaks in the Sarasota-Manatee County region. Single-family homes and condominiums sold for a median $260,000 in the two-county area during the second quarter of 2019, a 4% increase over the year, according to a new report from real estate researcher ATTOM Data Solutions.