Central Florida Housing Market Sees Interest From European Second-Home Buyers

Although a number of people from the United Kingdom have bought homes in the Central Florida housing market in recent years, the European continent is a largely unexplored market for local Realtors.

But with home sales and Florida mortgage activity slowing in the area, some are hoping second home buyers from Europe will pick up the slack.

Hans Hjelde, a retired Norwegian shipping executive, followed the advice of a friend and moved to Central Florida a year ago.

“I think a lot of Europeans would be interested if they knew about it,” said Hjelde, who lives in a neighborhood of upscale homes at Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills.

“I like the weather and golfing,” said Hjelde, who returns to Scandinavia for a few months every summer and spreads the word about the joys of living in Central Florida. He said several are thinking about joining him here.

George Wanberg, a Florida real estate agent in Eustis, recently was part of a two-man team that set up an exhibit at the Second Home International exposition in Utrecht, Holland.

The expo, which featured 350-plus exhibitors, attracted about 10,000 potential home buyers from throughout Northern Europe.

“We’ve always waited for buyers to come here,” Wanberg said. “But now we’re going there.”

He and a Dutch partner, Everard Korthals, went there hoping to attract Europeans as buyers of homes for Mission Inn, Lakes of Mount Dora and Tavares Station, a 15-story development planned for downtown Tavares.

Homes start in the $500,000 range at Mission Inn and $300,000 - a very affordable Florida mortgage amount - at Lakes of Mount Dora.

Tavares Station plans call for luxury town homes and condominiums but the prices have not been set.

The Brits’ infatuation with Central Florida is well known - more than 8,000 people from the United Kingdom own homes here, mostly in northeast Polk and northwest Osceola counties. And a few development communities have offices in the U.K.

But the rest of Europe - France, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany and Russia - is an untapped market of potential home buyers. Yet, Wanberg said, he didn’t see any other Americans participating in the Holland show.

Dottie Keedy, director of Lake County’s Department of Economic Growth and Redevelopment, said this was the first time she was aware of that local Realtors had gone to Northern Europe to entice home buyers.

Mission Inn’s Tom Line is one of those eyeing buyers across the English Channel, who are flush with equity and buoyed by a strong Euro - prime Florida home mortgage seeking candidates.

“We’ve wanted to break into the market on the continent for some time,” Line said. “But we didn’t have the time or the resources or the expertise.”

Line said the trip would pay for itself with 1-2 home sales, and he said he is interested in being represented again in the Utrecht show this October.

Orlando Regional Realtor Association officials said Realtors in general haven’t focused on European home buyers outside of the U.K. market.

Maria McKee-Gandy, with Worldvest Properties Inc., said the U.K. and Ireland represent Central Florida’s comfort zone but there is great potential in other parts of Europe as well.

“Realtors like to work with what they are familiar with,” said McKee-Gandy, speaking recently from London while on a business trip that also called for a stop in Holland.

She said Florida has both the climate and lifestyle Northern Europeans are seeking.

The push comes as the net increase of new residents in Central Florida fell by more than 20,000 last summer. Rising home prices, taxes and homeowner’s insurance rates have been blamed for the recent dip in home sales.

Still, despite the high prices in Florida, Northern Europeans are used to paying even more for housing and living expenses, and a rising euro allows them greater Florida home loan purchase power - at what amounts to a discount.

Another factor along with the strong euro that may make investing in U.S. property attractive are rising real estate prices in Spain and Turkey, traditional second home sites for Europeans.

Wanberg said he and Korthals returned from the Holland show with 39 solid prospects. European second home buyers are seeking a warm climate, a home on the water and golf, according to Wanberg.

Like in this country, waves of European baby boomers with disposable income are ready to retire. Wanberg and others are looking to snag them.

SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel