The Globe News
Investors from Latin America are again looking to invest in real estate in the United States to take advantage of the appreciation of the real estate market and benefit from low interest rates in an environment marked by the more positive attitude towards Latin Americans of the Joe Biden Administration.
To the surprise of many, the pandemic did not end the international market for the US real estate sector.
“For me it has been an unimaginable surprise to see that my sales have risen since the pandemic began,” said Alan Medellín, who from Bogotá (Colombia) sells furnished apartments in a resort called The Grove Resort & Water Park, near Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida).
"Suddenly clients began to arrive, not only from Colombia but also from Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile," says the real estate agent in statements provided by the communication agency Top of Mind.
Medellín highlights that "the fact that today we can do everything virtually, from showing a property to closing the purchase, has opened up many markets for us."
“With the disaster that the pandemic unleashed, investors from all over the region tell me that their only option is to invest in bricks and dollars because that gives them more security and peace of mind,” adds Medellín, whose sales have risen 180% compared to the pre-covid-19 period.
In part, that's because of the incentives developers in the United States have created to attract international buyers.
For example, The Grove offers a guaranteed return program and a subsidized dollar program, in which a discount is made on the exchange rate that benefits the investor.
According to Medellín, many of its clients in Latin America are looking to invest in a more stable economy, since the pandemic has created a deep economic crisis in their countries. The USA was also hit hard and its economy shrank by 3,5% in 2020, the biggest drop since World War II, but even so, it does not compare to the economic contraction suffered by Latin American countries.
For example, Mexico saw its GDP fall by 8,5% in 2020 according to official figures, the projections for Colombia and Argentina are for falls of 6,9% and 10,4%, respectively.
Florida and its three great destinations
Florida, more than any other state in the USA, relies heavily on the international market for real estate sales.
Miami, Orlando and Tampa are the top three destinations for foreign buyers, according to Florida Realtors, an organization of real estate agents.
Venezuela, Argentina and Colombia were the Latin American countries that purchased the most properties in Florida between August 2019 and July 2020, according to Florida Realtors. External source
External photo courtesy