RubyEverybody is talking about property investment again, and the same places keep coming up. We have the boom cities, first in Asia, now taken over by Paris with 22% price growth in the year ending March. Price growth is one thing, but today’s investor tends to be far more focussed on rental yields. Thank fully for them there are places attracting just as much attention because of the searing rental (buy to let) booms that they are experiencing, none bigger than in the UK’s cities and Florida.
Florida property investment has taken on new meaning in today’s property world. Sure, Florida is one of the world’s top tourist destinations, and had one of the biggest property booms of all during the global property boom, but never before has there been such a quandary over whether to choose holiday rentals or residential rentals as your investment vehicle. Practically the only decider is whether or not you want to use the property yourself, in which case you must choose holiday lettings.
In Florida, you must choose. Rentals in Florida are zonal; with zones for residentially let housing and zones for housing on short-term and holiday lets. This means you can’t just go into Florida property investment and make it up as you go along, you have to decide in advance how you are going to make money from your investment.
But to say you must choose overstates it a bit, yes, legally you must choose, but the choice is easy, because there is certainly plenty of money to be made down both avenues right now. This isn’t being missed by the thousands of investors from all around the world currently converging on Florida to snap up the bargain of a lifetime. The keyword being bargain; Florida currently offers an abundance of bargain properties. Hit with one of the worst repossession problems, Florida is currently awash with repossessed and distressed properties for sale.
Orlando, Davenport, Naples, Fort Meyers, all top locations with a string of benefits, great malls, attractions, close proximity to Disney World, and most of all low property prices, and subsequently high rental yields. Take the Highgate Residences at Regal Palms in Davenport, where you can currently buy a 3 bedroom townhouse for just $90k, which is currently around £60.
Regal Palms is an established Davenport holiday resort with a great reputation, and Highgate Residences is one of the most established phases, so to see such great properties at those incredible prices the projected yields of 6% would seem to be conservative to say the least.
