With Florida Home Sales on the Rebound, Aggressive Home Builders are Cherry-Picking the Best Deals

ORLANDO, Fla. --- New and existing housing sales are up in almost every region of Florida and real estate sales professionals are bracing for a busy 2013, according to Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty in Orlando. “We are seeing tremendous interest from national and regional builders, developers and investors seeking well-positioned properties for single-family homes, attached homes and apartments,” Soderstrom said. Developers are particularly active in the Miami market right now. “I remember hearing news stories in 2009 that it could take 10 years or more for the Miami real estate market to restore its equilibrium and today construction is booming,” Soderstrom said. Soderstrom said most of the standing building sites in Central Florida have been acquired over the past 12 to 18 months and builders and developers are now aggressively pursuing properties with development approvals and well-positioned properties that require approvals. “We are seeing extremely high demand in southwest Orlando, especially in the Horizons West area, and southeast Orlando with Lake Nona and the new medical city, Seminole County, as well as most of our neighboring counties,” Soderstrom said. Soderstrom said investors are finding undeveloped properties priced at a fraction of their values seven years ago. “Florida is benefiting from pent-up demand, new employment, and foreign investment,” Soderstrom said. “Florida attracts the largest percentage of foreign buyer sales nationally.” he added. Soderstrom said an improving housing market nationally benefits Florida too. “As the economy improves and housing markets recover in the Northeast and Midwest, older home owners are seeing the window of opportunity reopen for them,” Soderstrom said. “They are selling their homes so they can relocate to retirement communities in Florida.” Florida is on the rebound, Soderstrom emphasized.