Florida property dominates the 20 best places to invest this year according to the Forbes 2016 Best Buy Cities. The economic recovery, strong population and job growth, and prices still below value all bring Florida to the top of the 2016 US property investment list. Here, BRIC Group details why Forbes believes the Sunshine State represents excellent investment value and where the Florida property hotspots are.
In conjunction with Local Market Monitor, Forbes makes its annual round-up of the best places to buy property in the US for this year. The list takes the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country with a population of at least 600,000 and reveals where the best property buys are located.
Good investment value
Forbes points out that the rising prices of property throughout the US has not been matched by growth in salaries. This imbalance has forced many first-time buyers and low income earners out of the market.
However, the predominance of undervalued property (a market reality in most of the 100 locations) gives the current US market excellent investment potential. This is further enhanced by the sharp growth in the number of renters, a rise that boosts investment value in buy-to-let property in the US.
In their top 20 Forbes and Local Market Monitor take several factors into consideration – healthy job growth, a steady increase in population and anticipated price appreciation. Another of their essential criteria is investment value and the 20 best places to buy this year in the US all have undervalued property.
A majority for Florida property
2016 turns out to be the year for Florida property investment. As Forbes says, “the clear takeaway” for this year is “the good values to be had in Florida”. And this investment potential can be seen in Florida’s rankings in the list where the state takes 7 out of the 20 best places to buy.
This list domination surprised the list’s authors, but Local Market Monitor’s President Ingo Winzer points out that “in light of the national economic recovery, Florida’s rise makes a lot of sense”. The return of the US economy to growth and job creation means that the people who generally buy Florida property (retirees, second-home buyers and investors) are back in the Sunshine State and looking for homes.
Winzer says that their return has prompted a need for services and boosted the Florida job market. Nearly 250,000 new jobs were created in the state during 2015 and this has also created a knock-on effect in the rental market where supply is currently unable to keep up with demand.
Florida property hotspots
Just pipped at the post for top position by Grand Rapids in Michigan, Orlando sits in second place in the Forbes list. Further down the list and in the top 10 are Fort Lauderdale and Cape Coral. These three hotspots for Florida property are joined by North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Tampa, Jacksonville and West Palm Beach, all 4 in the top 20 places to buy US property this year.
A notable characteristic of these top property investment locations in Florida is their property prices. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price for a property in the US in December 2015 stood at US$224,100. Prices in Florida come into at considerably lower. The average cost of a property in Tampa is, according to Forbes, US$193,371 while Orlando properties have a median price of US$202,809 and those in Jacksonville, US$207,630.
BRIC Group is not surprised by Florida’s domination of the best places to invest in property in 2016. “We’ve been championing the investment potential of property in the Sunshine State for several years now,” says Dies Poppeliers, Managing Director of BRIC Group. “The Forbes listing for this year confirms our choice and we too believe that 2016 is definitely the year for buying in Florida.”
BRIC Group, an investment company specialising in global real estate opportunities, offers US real estate investments including turnkey properties in Florida and Houston, and land plots in Florida. BRIC Group is also developing The Coral resort, in Northeast Brazil, a luxury beachfront resort with land and villa investment opportunities. BRIC Group has been creating wealth for its clients since 1996 and has offices in Brazil, Dubai (consulting office), Hungary, Spain and the US.
Source: Forbes
