Florida has been a tricky State for foreclosures. Not only does it form part of a group of US States where foreclosures are handled with judicial oversight, thus protracting the process, but it also has a higher volume of them. Compound this with the “robo signer” scandal and the system all-but stalled. But there’s good news, the kinks have been ironed out and it’s all systems go for Florida foreclosures.

Adam Cornwell, Managing Director of Feltrim International, is pleased with the progress, “Whilst more homes may be starting the foreclosure process as this period of limbo comes to an end, many more are also finishing it and hitting the Florida property market. Fortunately there are many investment buyers out there, particularly from Canada, Brazil, the UK and Far East, who are ready and waiting to snap up this flood of bargain homes. In fact a recent study from listing website Point2 showed that over 31% of foreign investors looking at the US for real estate homed in on Florida. And, with new home construction currently at a stand-still, existing stock will continue to be their preferred option.”

Adam continues, “It’s not just price that underpins the investment proposition in Florida, rental potential is a key factor that creates stability. 51 million tourists came to Orlando last year, many of them to explore Walt Disney World, and short-term lets are booming. Meanwhile unfavourable mortgage lending, a lack of confidence and the need to wait for two or three years for a credit rating to rebound after a foreclosure, creates a huge local demand for long-term rentals. Investors can soak up 8 to 10% return on investment in rental income and wait patiently while the market readjusts and recovers – which indeed it already is. The US economy is improving and current unemployment levels are at 8.3%, a three year low. Fewer people are defaulting on their payments and property prices are on a natural rise.”

The “robo signing” scandal which came to a head at the end of 2011 centred around under-qualified bank personnel blindly signed thousands of foreclosure papers on a daily basis without verifying the authenticity of the paperwork – a practice that was inadmissible. The subsequent law suit stalled foreclosures while cases were investigated for fraudulent activity. Whilst this was good for the homeowner, delaying their impending foreclosure, it was frustrating for the property market. The result was the average time it took for a foreclosure to complete rising from 169 days in Q1 2007 to 806 days in Q4 2011 – well over two years. Fortunately, in February of this year, the five major lenders involved in robo signing came to a 25 billion dollar settlement agreement which paved the way for a fresh wave of foreclosures to hit the market.

According to RealtyTrac, one of America’s most trusted sources of foreclosure statistics, overall foreclosure filings in Florida, which include initial notices, notices of sale and repossessions, were 40% higher in February 2012 than they were in 2011 – but remember this is coming from a very low base. Florida is taking steps to increase the number of judges and administrators on hand to clear the paperwork and the hearings and flush the glut of foreclosures through the system. This is very much in the banks’ interest as all the while they are carrying the cost of securing, insuring and maintaining the homes on their books.

Florida’s housing market peak was in 2006 to 2007 and maybe it’ll take a while to get back there but prices are already moving back in the right direction, albeit slowly. The only time anyone can pinpoint the bottom of the market is when it’s out the other side, by looking in the rearview mirror and making the call, but conditions are most definitely stabilising and when finance becomes more readily available there will be a sharper upswing.

Once upon a time, brokers would call up a newspaper to place an advertisement that featured their listing. The newspaper would … Continue

The state of the U.S. real estate market is in the eye of the beholder. While many Americans have shied away from home purchases due to the economic downturn, a growing number of cash-rich foreign investors are seizing the opportunity to snap up U.S. homes at bargain prices.

Not all U.S. markets are universally appealing to out-of-country investors, however. International home buying activity is largely concentrated in a few areas of the country. Using public record data compiled by San Diego-based real estate data analysis firm DataQuick, Inman News has identified the 10 most popular areas in the U.S. for foreign homebuyers.

The majority of the markets, if not all, are recognizable as tourist destinations. Six of the 10 areas are in Florida; three are in the West (Arizona, Hawaii and Nevada); and one is in the Northeast (New York). No Midwest markets made the list.

The 10 markets, ranked by highest share of foreign buyers, according to public records data, are:

1. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
2. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
3. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.
4. North Point-Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla.
5. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.
6. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz.
7. New York County, N.Y. (Manhattan)
8. Honolulu, Hawaii.
9. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
10. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.

Continue

By: Andrea Brambila
February 9, 2012
Read this article on INMAN News

In an effort to give listing agents and listing brokers better exposure on third-party real estate websites, San Diego-area multiple listing service Sandicor Inc. has added a new data field where they can enter contact details.

The MLS will reportedly terminate its data feed to those third-party publishers that do not comply in displaying the new field within 60 days.

The MLS will also soon decrease the number of photos that can go out to listing syndicators to four, down from the current maximum of 25, and add watermarks with listing agent or broker contact information on images sent to third-party sites.

Starting today, listing agents can include information such as their name, brokerage, email addresses, telephone numbers, website URLs, California real estate license number, open-house schedules, and the property’s description, in a field called “Advertising Remarks,” that will go out to listings syndicators such as ListHub and Point2, the MLS said.

Listings syndicators feed listings from brokers and MLSs to third-party real estate portals.

“For those consumer sites (e.g., Trulia and Zillow) that display MLS remarks, the ‘Advertising Remarks’ field will provide the consumer with agent contact information that is prominently displayed, making it clear on how to contact the listing agent directly,” the MLS said in an announcement.

Sandicor CEO Ray Ewing told Inman News that Sandicor’s “goal is to make agent and broker sites a better source for property information. The agents will be able to put in the advertising remarks language such as ‘for more photos, please go to my website at …’ ”

Ewing said the MLS will begin to limit the number of photos going to syndicators sometime in the next 60 days or so, pending a software update. The MLS has not yet set an approximate date for its implementation of watermarks on photos sent to syndicators, he added.

The move is the latest in a long-running debate over listings syndication and the control of listings data. In November, HomeServices of America subsidiary Edina Realty Inc. announced it would stop sending listings to property search sites Trulia and Realtor.com.

Last month, a San Diego brokerage, ARG Abbott Realty Group, announced via YouTube video that it had pulled its listings from third-party sites. The announcement was quickly followed by a video rebuttal defending listings syndication posted by Philadelphia-based broker Fred Glick.

This week, news broke that two MLSs discontinued their agreements approving real estate technology company Diverse Solutions as an Internet Data Exchange (IDX) provider for their members due to the company’s acquisition by real estate portal Zillow in November.

Two Orange County, Calif., real estate professionals also reported that their listings on Zillow had been wrongfully claimed by other agents, a practice that Zillow representatives said happens rarely and that the company takes quick action to resolve.

In this latest development, Sandicor has introduced a new, optional data field specifically for listings syndication that will allow listing agents to display their names and contact information on third-party websites in a place that normally contains a property description.

Because the property description tends to be displayed higher on a listing page — currently under property photos on both Trulia’s and Zillow’s websites — the listing agent’s contact information then gets an additional, highly visible spot on the listing page. Sandicor does not allow agents to self-promote beyond contact details in the new field.

Victor Lund, partner at real estate consulting firm WAV Group, said the move allows ”the advertising agent or broker to provide more information about their listing that’s not allowed within the rules and regulations of IDX.” Sandicor is a WAV Group client.

Real estate professionals are not allowed to put their name or contact information in an MLS field designated specifically for IDX (Internet Data Exchange) purposes, but because this new field is specifically for listings syndication, those rules do not apply, Lund said. The new field is limited to about 550 characters, he added.

WAV Group initially brought the idea of adding a new MLS field to Sandicor’s attention by showing the MLS that Tucson-based Long Realty was already putting their agents’ contact information in property descriptions on third-party sites. Long Realty is not a WAV Group client.

“Brokers who’ve experimented with this — specifically those who have put the agent’s name and telephone number in this field — have seen an increase in the number of telephone calls they get from listings syndication,” Lund said.

“What Sandicor is doing here is in response to what their brokers are requesting,” he added.

“One of the largest brokerages in Sandicor is Prudential California Realty, which is a HomeServices (of America) company, which is also the parent company of Long Realty. To the degree that the MLS is supporting the brokerage by giving them the same freedom and flexibility that they have in other markets, their MLS is helping them and responding to their needs.”

Gregg Larson, president and CEO of Clareity Consulting, in a blog post said Sandicor’s new field “could make a profound difference for the future of real estate advertising.” Sandicor is a Clareity client.

“Sandicor has concluded that the current practice of obscuring the listing agent or broker by selling the ad space that surrounds a listing is misleading to consumers. At a minimum, this will at least establish a fair means for consumers to contact the listing agent directly,” Larson said.

He added that third-party publishers have 60 days to adapt their data feeds to accept the new data field and display it, and that the MLS will terminate the data feed to websites that do not comply.

Point2 said it is working with Sandicor to implement the changes and will start rolling them out in April.

“If stricter distribution of data is the preferred choice for some MLSs, with the intention that consumers go on to the broker or agent site for more information, Point2′s systems will cater to that need,” said Saul Klein, Point2′s senior vice president.

ListHub said it also plans to work with Sandicor to implement the changes and will pull in the new data.

“We have 43,000 brokers (we work with) and there are a lot of a opinions about what works and what doesn’t. So ListHub’s goal is just to be flexible,” said Luke Glass, vice president and general manager of ListHub.

“At the end of the day, the broker is the actual advertiser of the listing (so) at the end of the day it’s what that broker wants to do.”

Zillow spokeswoman Cynthia Nowak said the site welcomed Sandicor’s decision to add a new data field because, “in general, more information about a listing is in the best interest of consumers.”

She added that “the listing agent always is clearly identified on Zillow. Once the listing agent sets up a free profile on Zillow, we always place him in the first position on the buyer’s agent list at no charge.”

Ginger Wilcox, head of industry training at Trulia, pointed to a “data pledge” for listings syndication and display Trulia posted on its blog in January that, among other things, says “ads will be identified as ads to distinguish advertising from listing content. We will remove ads that confuse consumers about the official agent or broker for a listing.”

“At Trulia, we’re committed to making it easy for consumers to contact the listing data source and the listing agent based on the information provided to Trulia,” Wilcox told Inman News.

Reactions to the decision to decrease the listing photos that go to third-party sites down to four, from 25, was mixed.

Clareity’s Larson praised the decision.

“Member IDX sites and the Sandicor public-facing site will display all of the photos and agent remarks in the MLS system. Sandicor’s goal is to make member IDX sites a much better source for the consumer seeking real estate information. This move will eventually train consumers to visit a broker or the MLS site to see all the property data and pictures,” he said.

Trulia’s Wilcox said Sandicor’s decision to limit listing photos on third-party sites will affect prospective homebuyers.

“The No. 1 request homebuyers have when searching for properties is more photos. Consumers want choice and information. It doesn’t benefit buyers, sellers or their agents to reduce the amount of photos displayed or property information available to prospective buyers,” she said.

Reactions from San Diego area real estate professionals Inman News contacted were mixed to positive about the changes.

Kris Berg, Inman News columnist and designated broker of San Diego Castles Realty, applauded Sandicor’s decision to add a new field and limit listing photos in a blog post, calling it a “smart middle-ground approach to take” in the face of differing opinions regarding listings syndication among their membership.

Jim Abbott, president and managing broker of ARG, said his brokerage was fully aware of Sandicor’s upcoming changes prior to ARG’s decision to stop syndicating its listings.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction for agents and brokers who want to continue in syndication, but it doesn’t remotely solve the problem” of agents other than the listing agent appearing next to a listing, Abbott said.

He added, “We don’t know where these advertising remarks are going to be displayed on a given syndicator’s site.

“They could bury it the way they bury (listing agent information) now. They could display it in six-point type. I have no confidence that the sites will display the listing agent information to the public.”

He approved of Sandicor’s decision to limit listing photos to third-party sites.

“I think theres a long-term benefit here where, by virtue of the fact that consumers will now be able to go to a consumer-facing MLS site and get six times the photographs, (that) will slowly drive traffic in the right direction,” Abbott said.

Jason Lopez, managing broker at Smart Real Estate Solutions, disagreed.

“Reducing the number of photos is something I don’t like because it just adds another step that has to be done manually and that is time consuming,” Lopez said. “I’m surprised they did this especially when there is tons of data indicating consumers want lots of pictures.”

Kimberly Dotseth, broker-owner of Green Box Homes, said she thought the new field was “an excellent idea” and a “game-changer.”

“I do plan to use the field; I do plan to continue syndicating my listings; and I plan to continue taking about 200 photos for each new listing. Twenty-five are used on the local MLS and if only four are disseminated out to the syndicators, I don’t mind. Why? Because I don’t sell houses through syndicated sites,” she said.

“So far, those sites are merely a conduit from a buyer to me, who usually reaches out for some additional information. In this case, I will use my advertising remarks to offer additional photos by email.”

By: Lily Leung
March 12, 2012

Read this article on UT San Diego

For millions of serious and not-so-serious homebuyers, the first stops in the house hunt are likely the Zillows and Trulias. Consumers are drawn to their simple and intuitive designs, and more importantly, the landslide of listing information they can gather after a few searches.

What consumers can’t see is how the information is collected, culled and presented — a proprietary process that could lead to inaccuracies. Real estate agents and brokers in San Diego County and beyond have their horror stories: incorrect bed and bath counts, duplicates with differing prices and homes listed as active when they have already sold. What’s the likely implication of this for consumers? Misinformed buying decisions.

“It’s a massive, massive amount of information,” said Jeffrey Douglass, a San Diego real estate broker. “It gets to be a kind of nightmare from the perspectives of Zillow and Trulia.”

“What got them started,” Douglass added, “(consumers) wanted to know what their neighbors paid and what the person down the street paid.”

Representatives from those popular real-estate search sites say their systems, which draw from multiple sources, aren’t perfect. But it appears Zillow and Trulia are trying to clean up their data act and appease the industry. Zillow agreed last month to prominently feature listings from Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, one of the largest real estate companies in the country, in exchange for one clean data feed from the brokerage.

But not all real estate pros are willing to work with the bigwig advertising sites. San Diego-based ARG Abbott Realty Group in January cut off its listing access to Zillow, a first for a brokerage in the county.

Not long after, Sandicor, the local Multiple Listing Service, announced plans to control and limit what it sends to syndicators, whose data eventually get picked up and used by the Zillows and Trulias.

To understand the debate and how it can affect the house-shopping experience, here’s an introduction to real estate syndication.

How does it work?

It all starts with someone wanting to sell a home. The seller works with a real estate agent who lists the home on the market.

The agent enters the home’s information — from square footage to asking price — into the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, a members-only network that contains listing details.

Real estate professionals typically then are able to send the listing information to third-party sites. This move, which is voluntary, is meant to attract more interested buyers to a property so it gets sold quicker.

That’s where the Zillows and Trulias come in, right? Not yet.

The housing data are actually sent to real estate syndicators, who collect up to hundreds of data feeds from all over the country. They make the data uniform to distribute to several places including Zillow and Trulia.

It’s also important to note that the Zillows and Trulias also draw from various sources. They include data providers, brokerages, individual agents and MLSs.

So the results you see on those sites represent a lot of data changing hands and being cleaned up in ways that are not disclosed to the public.

Saul Klein, senior vice president of major syndicator Point2, calls the method it uses to “normalize” the data its “secret sauce.” This is the typical response from real estate services, including syndicators and third-party sites. Most, if not all, won’t disclose the methods they use to clean up, choose and send out data.

What do agents get in return for syndication? Widespread exposure on popular platforms. Zillow recently reported 31.3 million unique users visited its sites and mobile apps in February. Trulia says it gets 20 million unique users each month.

What’s the fuss?

One day in February, San Diego real estate broker Kris Berg carried out an experiment.

Berg, who has an issue with syndication, wanted to see how one of the popular real estate search site’s listings compared to that of the local MLS. She analyzed 92131, the Scripps Ranch ZIP code.

Here’s a sampling of her findings from 220-plus search results:

• 54 were not for sale.

• 46 were condos, although Berg limited her search to houses.

• 24 had sold. One dated back more than a year.

• 17 were contingent.

• 10 were in escrow.

• 8 were expired, canceled or withdrawn.

“It was a bit of a mess,” Berg said.

How do such inaccuracies happen?

As discussed earlier, there’s lots of data going around through multiple sources. Different parties who want to promote listings may be entering different information in different places at different times. Those parties include brokers and agents.

In the midst of all that sharing, sometimes data aren’t updated.

“If it’s not accurate and is dated, then it’s not good for the consumer,” Klein said. “The problem for the consumer is there are many sources of information.”

One can’t-miss point in this discussion is the importance of everyone updating their data feeds. ListHub, the country’s largest real estate syndicator, says its feed is updated four times a day. It sends daily reminders to “publishers,” such as Zillow and Trulia, to update on their end. Point 2 asks that partners update at least every 24 hours. The point is, everyone must be diligent. If interested parties aren’t updating, they could be disseminating bad or misleading data.

So if Trulia and Zillow get multiple copies of one listing, how do they decide which listing to use?

Trulia spokesman Ken Shuman said they use an in-house algorithm that he declined to go into because it’s proprietary. Zillow, which pulls from more than 1,000 sources, says it gives “priority to MLS and broker feeds over other sources,” said spokeswoman Cynthia Nowak.

What else can affect the accuracy of listings?

Amateur syndicators can, said Gregg Larson, a real estate information-technology consultant based in Scottsdale, Ariz., who has a national presence.

Larson means companies whose main business is to offer advertising to agents and brokers, from business cards to virtual home tours. As a way to generate more money, some have gone into the syndication business, offering to distribute clients’ information to various sites as a bonus.

“The problem is, they don’t have the infrastructure, the routing, the distribution technology,” Larson said. “They end up sending stuff out and not end up cleaning it up.”

Or updating it.

Is inventory overstated?

Real estate brokers and agents argue third-party sites such as Zillow and Trulia are overstating inventory, which could confuse and derail consumers.

Berg, the San Diego broker who did the listing experiment, said this can be seen in the inclusion of pre-foreclosures, which aren’t for sale.

Zillow and Trulia both include homes of people who have received notices of default, the first formal step in the foreclosure process. Not everyone who gets one of these notices will end up in foreclosure. The percentage of California homeowners who start the foreclosure process and avert foreclosure is roughly 57 percent, based on data for the past five years from RealtyTrac.

Berg found about 45 such examples in her search results for the ZIP code she tested in her experiment.

“It’s absolutely a bait-and-switch,” Berg said. “The owner may work out a loan modification, do a short sale, or be foreclosed upon.”

Both Zillow and Trulia stand by their use of pre-foreclosure data.

Zillow, which channels data from foreclosure.com, said putting the information out there could facilitate future short-sale deals between troubled homeowners and future buyers.

“At the end of the day, with the discussion on syndication, we’re trying to help get consumers into homes they want to live in,” said Greg Schwartz, chief revenue officer at Zillow.

Trulia’s Shuman said pre-foreclosure information gives consumers the full picture of what’s going on in neighborhood markets.

“We believe it should be front and center, and part of your comprehensive search,” he added.

Is data quality improving?

Real estate search sites emerged in the mid-2000s and have grown exponentially.

“The Zillows and Trulias of the world exist because our industry did a poor job with the listings ourselves,” said Jeffrey Douglass, a local broker who’s been vocal in the syndication debate. “So the consumers go somewhere else.”

The real estate search sites have lured millions of unique users with their user-friendly apps and a wide range of tools meant to make the home-shopping experience easier — and even fun. Those in the industry say the MLS networks have fallen flat in this area, so naturally consumers have strayed.

Many brokerages and MLSs have surrendered to search sites’ vast market presence and continue to work with them, acknowledging they are getting widespread exposure. Some major brokerages such as Howard Hanna in the Northeast are even making deals with them.

Company President Howard “Hoby” Hanna said this in a YouTube video about the recent partnership with Zillow:

“Zillow, we will partner with you. We will send you a clean set of our data. We’ll make sure it’s fully enhanced, but we want the following in return: Number one, we want integrity of data. We want to work with you to make sure the data feed that you get is accurate, is in real time, that no longer will Zillow per our agreement take data from other places and other sources.”

On the other extreme, one San Diego brokerage is not playing ball with either Zillow or Trulia.

Jim Abbott, president ARG Abbott Realty Group, severed ties with such sites this year.

“This is about the long-term survival for all brokers,” Abbott said. “You cannot keep giving away what amounts to be your future business.”

And while there may be continued clash between industry pros and third-party sites, it appears everyone is attempting to make data more uniform and accurate for those who are seriously and not-so seriously interested in buying homes.

“Yes, we have inaccuracies, but far fewer than five years ago,” said Klein, of Point2. “Syndication is an evolution.”

By: Lew Sichelman
March 11, 2012
Read this article on Los Angeles Times

Because of the housing market meltdown, foreign governments and banks are shying away from bonds backed by American home loans. But individual foreign buyers are taking advantage of the crash to snap up U.S. bargains at a record clip.

When housing was flying high, foreign entities were buying the lion’s share of the mortgage-backed securities packaged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two quasi-government agencies that help keep the housing finance system flush with cash by buying mortgages from Main Street lenders.

Now, with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in conservatorship and their futures in question — and with millions of homeowners underwater on loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the foreign share of the mortgage-backed securities market is just a fraction of what it once was. Instead, foreigners are gobbling up individual properties.

Foreign clients bought $41 billion worth of stateside houses and apartments during the 12-month period that ended in March 2011, according to the latest tally by the National Assn. of Realtors. That’s roughly the same as the previous year.

But add in the $41 billion spent by immigrants who moved here within the last two years and individuals with visas of more than six months, and the total is $82 billion worth of U.S. residential real estate taken off the market by international buyers, up from $66 billion the year before.

The demand for American real estate is so strong that last fall, the Realtors association launched an international version of its listing website. Now, the 4.4 million properties displayed on Realtor.com can be viewed more easily by buyers from practically any place in the world, and in almost a dozen languages.

In the 1980s, when investors from Japan and other countries were buying large amounts of commercial real estate, including such iconic properties as the Pebble Beach golf club and Rockefeller Center in New York, there was fear in some quarters that the U.S. was for sale to foreigners.

There’s no such outcry this time around, if only because the foreign share of the domestic housing market is but a small sliver of a $1.07-trillion pie. And in markets where foreign buyers are most active, their pesos, pounds and rupees are being welcomed with open arms because they are helping unclog the logjam of unsold and foreclosed houses, a jam-up many believe must be cleared before residential real estate can regain its equilibrium.

“At a time when there are a lot of homes on the market and an overhang of distressed properties, an active foreign demand relieves these worries,” says Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research at the Mortgage Bankers Assn.

While most states have some international buyers, the Realtors group says foreigners are buying largely in four states — Florida, California, Texas and Arizona. Of those, only Texas is not being held back by a glut of unsold inventory.

More recent data square with the association’s findings. According to DataQuick, nearly 55% of all U.S. residential real estate sales to foreigners from May to November last year were in Florida, and more than 17% were in Arizona. Nearly 6% were in California, and close to 5% were in Nevada, another state hit hard by the housing downturn.

According to an analysis of Internet searches of U.S. real estate by foreigners in last year’s fourth quarter by Point2, a real estate technology company, Florida holds the most interest, followed by Arizona, Nevada and California.

None of this is terribly surprising. Not only are housing prices languishing in these spots, but most people prefer warmer climates. What may be surprising, though, is that many foreign buyers are not coming to the U.S. from that far away.

While the Realtors counted buyers from more than 70 countries, Canada accounted for nearly a fourth of all international sales, followed by China at 9% and India, Mexico and Britain each with a 7% share. Together, these five countries accounted for 53% of the transactions.

Canadians have always been big investors in American real estate, especially in warmer climates. But Saul Klein of Vancouver, Canada, firm Point2 says interest is also keen among Canadians in states such as Michigan, which is close to home. Michigan has been hit particularly hard by the downturn and, therefore, offers “very attractive” investment opportunities, Klein says.

But pure investment isn’t necessarily the main driver of the decision to buy houses in America, even if the buyers expect to use them only on vacations with family and friends. Rather, it’s foreign buyers’ desire to protect their money from the ravages of their own economies.

Even though the value of the U.S. dollar isn’t what it once was, most foreigners believe the U.S. is the “best place in the world” to park their money, says Faith Xenos of Singer Xenos, a Coral Gables, Fla., wealth management firm that works with Brazilian clients. “There is a certain allure and prestige to being a U.S. investor. So when people do well, they put their money in American real estate or a Swiss bank account,” Xenos says.

Most foreign purchases are in cash, if only because the long-term, big-ticket borrowing arrangements common in this country are, well, foreign to foreigners.

Stephen Davis, an immigration lawyer in Jacksonville, Fla., says foreigners can buy homes in the United States under several visa programs. But to grease the wheels a bit further, Sens. Charles E. Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, have introduced legislation that would grant three-year visas to those who spend at least $500,000 in cash on at least one house.

Noting the strong desire to own homes in places where the inventory of properties for sale is currently bloated, Schumer said of the measure: “This is a way of letting them live here and solving our housing crisis.”

lsichelman@aol.com

Distributed by Universal Uclick for United Feature Syndicate.

The portal lists distressed property and foreclosures submitted by Real Estate Owned holding companies, such as banks, and real estate Multiple Listing Service (MLS) organisations, which they upload through a simple automated feed.

In order to optimise exposure to buyers, listing owners are able to automatically syndicate their inventory to any of Point2’s more than 50 third party consumer partner sites and search engines, and view online traffic reports free of charge.

According to the company, moving distressed properties benefits everyone, and helps to stabilize pricing and the market in general. “We’ve adopted a subscription-free model to help our customers and business partners reach more buyers more quickly. We look forward to working with many more organisations in the U.S. and Canada to help market their real estate foreclosures.” Says Saul Klein, senior vice president, Point2.

Point2 announced a new feature on Point2 Homes that will make it easier for consumers to access and research thousands of bank owned and pre-foreclosure properties.

Sandicor also to limit number of photos sent to listings syndicators

In an effort to give listing agents and listing brokers better exposure on third-party real estate websites, San Diego-area multiple listing service Sandicor Inc. has added a new data field where they can enter contact details.

The MLS will reportedly terminate its data feed to those third-party publishers that do not comply in displaying the new field within 60 days.

The MLS will also soon decrease the number of photos that can go out to listing syndicators to four, down from the current maximum of 25, and add watermarks with listing agent or broker contact information on images sent to third-party sites.

Starting today, listing agents can include information such as their name, brokerage, email addresses, telephone numbers, website URLs, California real estate license number, open-house schedules, and the property’s description, in a field called “Advertising Remarks,” that will go out to listings syndicators such as ListHub and Point2, the MLS said.

Listings syndicators feed listings from brokers and MLSs to third-party real estate portals.

“For those consumer sites (e.g., Trulia and Zillow) that display MLS remarks, the ‘Advertising Remarks’ field will provide the consumer with agent contact information that is prominently displayed, making it clear on how to contact the listing agent directly,” the MLS said in an announcement.

Sandicor CEO Ray Ewing told Inman News that Sandicor’s “goal is to make agent and broker sites a better source for property information. The agents will be able to put in the advertising remarks language such as ‘for more photos, please go to my website at …’ ”

Ewing said the MLS will begin to limit the number of photos going to syndicators sometime in the next 60 days or so, pending a software update. The MLS has not yet set an approximate date for its implementation of watermarks on photos sent to syndicators, he added.

The move is the latest in a long-running debate over listings syndication and the control of listings data. In November, HomeServices of America subsidiary Edina Realty Inc. announced it would stop sending listings to property search sites Trulia and Realtor.com.

Last month, a San Diego brokerage, ARG Abbott Realty Group, announced via YouTube video that it had pulled its listings from third-party sites. The announcement was quickly followed by a video rebuttal defending listings syndication posted by Philadelphia-based broker Fred Glick.

This week, news broke that two MLSs discontinued their agreements approving real estate technology company Diverse Solutions as an Internet Data Exchange (IDX) provider for their members due to the company’s acquisition by real estate portal Zillow in November.

Two Orange County, Calif., real estate professionals also reported that their listings on Zillow had been wrongfully claimed by other agents, a practice that Zillow representatives said happens rarely and that the company takes quick action to resolve.

In this latest development, Sandicor has introduced a new, optional data field specifically for listings syndication that will allow listing agents to display their names and contact information on third-party websites in a place that normally contains a property description.

Because the property description tends to be displayed higher on a listing page — currently under property photos on both Trulia’s and Zillow’s websites — the listing agent’s contact information then gets an additional, highly visible spot on the listing page. Sandicor does not allow agents to self-promote beyond contact details in the new field.

Victor Lund, partner at real estate consulting firm WAV Group, said the move allows ”the advertising agent or broker to provide more information about their listing that’s not allowed within the rules and regulations of IDX.” Sandicor is a WAV Group client.

Real estate professionals are not allowed to put their name or contact information in an MLS field designated specifically for IDX (Internet Data Exchange) purposes, but because this new field is specifically for listings syndication, those rules do not apply, Lund said. The new field is limited to about 550 characters, he added.

WAV Group initially brought the idea of adding a new MLS field to Sandicor’s attention by showing the MLS that Tucson-based Long Realty was already putting their agents’ contact information in property descriptions on third-party sites. Long Realty is not a WAV Group client.

Screenshots (above) of a Long Realty listing on Trulia that includes the listing agent’s contact information in property description. (The bottom image has been altered here with highlighting.)

“Brokers who’ve experimented with this — specifically those who have put the agent’s name and telephone number in this field — have seen an increase in the number of telephone calls they get from listings syndication,” Lund said.

“What Sandicor is doing here is in response to what their brokers are requesting,” he added.

“One of the largest brokerages in Sandicor is Prudential California Realty, which is a HomeServices (of America) company, which is also the parent company of Long Realty. To the degree that the MLS is supporting the brokerage by giving them the same freedom and flexibility that they have in other markets, their MLS is helping them and responding to their needs.”

Gregg Larson, president and CEO of Clareity Consulting, in a blog post said Sandicor’s new field “could make a profound difference for the future of real estate advertising.” Sandicor is a Clareity client.

“Sandicor has concluded that the current practice of obscuring the listing agent or broker by selling the ad space that surrounds a listing is misleading to consumers. At a minimum, this will at least establish a fair means for consumers to contact the listing agent directly,” Larson said.

He added that third-party publishers have 60 days to adapt their data feeds to accept the new data field and display it, and that the MLS will terminate the data feed to websites that do not comply.

Point2 said it is working with Sandicor to implement the changes and will start rolling them out in April.

“If stricter distribution of data is the preferred choice for some MLSs, with the intention that consumers go on to the broker or agent site for more information, Point2′s systems will cater to that need,” said Saul Klein, Point2′s senior vice president.

ListHub said it also plans to work with Sandicor to implement the changes and will pull in the new data.

“We have 43,000 brokers (we work with) and there are a lot of a opinions about what works and what doesn’t. So ListHub’s goal is just to be flexible,” said Luke Glass, vice president and general manager of ListHub.

“At the end of the day, the broker is the actual advertiser of the listing (so) at the end of the day it’s what that broker wants to do.”

Zillow spokeswoman Cynthia Nowak said the site welcomed Sandicor’s decision to add a new data field because, “in general, more information about a listing is in the best interest of consumers.”

She added that “the listing agent always is clearly identified on Zillow. Once the listing agent sets up a free profile on Zillow, we always place him in the first position on the buyer’s agent list at no charge.”

Ginger Wilcox, head of industry training at Trulia, pointed to a “data pledge” for listings syndication and display Trulia posted on its blog in January that, among other things, says “ads will be identified as ads to distinguish advertising from listing content. We will remove ads that confuse consumers about the official agent or broker for a listing.”

“At Trulia, we’re committed to making it easy for consumers to contact the listing data source and the listing agent based on the information provided to Trulia,” Wilcox told Inman News.

Reactions to the decision to decrease the listing photos that go to third-party sites down to four, from 25, was mixed.

Clareity’s Larson praised the decision.

“Member IDX sites and the Sandicor public-facing site will display all of the photos and agent remarks in the MLS system. Sandicor’s goal is to make member IDX sites a much better source for the consumer seeking real estate information. This move will eventually train consumers to visit a broker or the MLS site to see all the property data and pictures,” he said.

Trulia’s Wilcox said Sandicor’s decision to limit listing photos on third-party sites will affect prospective homebuyers.

“The No. 1 request homebuyers have when searching for properties is more photos. Consumers want choice and information. It doesn’t benefit buyers, sellers or their agents to reduce the amount of photos displayed or property information available to prospective buyers,” she said.

Reactions from San Diego area real estate professionals Inman News contacted were mixed to positive about the changes.

Kris Berg, Inman News columnist and designated broker of San Diego Castles Realty, applauded Sandicor’s decision to add a new field and limit listing photos in a blog post, calling it a “smart middle-ground approach to take” in the face of differing opinions regarding listings syndication among their membership.

Jim Abbott, president and managing broker of ARG, said his brokerage was fully aware of Sandicor’s upcoming changes prior to ARG’s decision to stop syndicating its listings.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction for agents and brokers who want to continue in syndication, but it doesn’t remotely solve the problem” of agents other than the listing agent appearing next to a listing, Abbott said.

He added, “We don’t know where these advertising remarks are going to be displayed on a given syndicator’s site.

“They could bury it the way they bury (listing agent information) now. They could display it in six-point type. I have no confidence that the sites will display the listing agent information to the public.”

He approved of Sandicor’s decision to limit listing photos to third-party sites.

“I think theres a long-term benefit here where, by virtue of the fact that consumers will now be able to go to a consumer-facing MLS site and get six times the photographs, (that) will slowly drive traffic in the right direction,” Abbott said.

Jason Lopez, managing broker at Smart Real Estate Solutions, disagreed.

“Reducing the number of photos is something I don’t like because it just adds another step that has to be done manually and that is time consuming,” Lopez said. “I’m surprised they did this especially when there is tons of data indicating consumers want lots of pictures.”

Kimberly Dotseth, broker-owner of Green Box Homes, said she thought the new field was “an excellent idea” and a “game-changer.”

“I do plan to use the field; I do plan to continue syndicating my listings; and I plan to continue taking about 200 photos for each new listing. Twenty-five are used on the local MLS and if only four are disseminated out to the syndicators, I don’t mind. Why? Because I don’t sell houses through syndicated sites,” she said.

“So far, those sites are merely a conduit from a buyer to me, who usually reaches out for some additional information. In this case, I will use my advertising remarks to offer additional photos by email.”

Real estate bloggers in San Diego and elsewhere applauded and booed the San Diego region’s MLS after it said it will allow members to enter their contact information into a new field that could be featured prominently on real estate search sites such as Zillow and Trulia.

Related: San Diego MLS fights for Zillow, Trulia exposure

The big “if” is whether third-party syndicators including Point2 and ListHub decide to pull in and disseminate the data from Sandicor, the region’s MLS. That’s important because the big real estate search sites use those syndicators. I’ve learned that Point2 officials plan to work with Sandicor, while ListHub’s won’t, at least not right now.

Update 6:19 a.m. Thursday Feb. 9: I’m getting mixed signals from the officials at ListHub (owned by Realtor.com) about whether they are pulling in the extra field from Sandicor, or not. Stay tuned. I’ll get this squared away ASAP.

So what did folks across the web say about Sandicor’s recent decision to try to take more control of its data?

Here’s a sample. (Note: All of these bloggers also weighed in when a local real estate brokerage decided to cut ties with Zillow and Trulia):

…Right now I am standing on my chair and offering a personal round of applause. This was bold and rather creative. Maybe it’s not “No more syndication. Period!” uber-bold, but I can think of about forty reasons why it was a smart middle-ground approach to take. I can start with the simple argument that not all of Sandicor’s subscribing agents and brokers are on my side of the syndication argument and, while I might lack polital acumen, they must be political; I could end with the idea that our MLS would probably have a hard time defending a position of telling us where and with whom we can and can’t advertise our listings.

-From Kris Berg, co-owner of San Diego Castles Realty.

I’m sure this is welcome news for listing agents often frustrated to have listings appear on 3rd party sites appear to be owned by other agents. From a buyer’s agent (selling agent) perspective the news is not as good. The 3rd party sites will likely spend more time getting listing agents to upgrade the listing.

Jeffrey Douglass, owner of San Diego-based RealtyV2.com.

While I am not one to believe that we need to wrest all control and display of listing data away from third-party sites, I don’t see anything wrong with including additional information about the listing brokerage. BUT, if you are a home buyer, think about why you’d want to work with the home seller’s agent. The seller’s agent has THEIR best interest in mind, not yours. If you are buying a home, work with a buyer’s agent that will have YOUR best interests in mind.

-From Jay Thompson, also known as the Phoenix Real Estate Guy.

Am I missing any other blogs? Please let me know. I’m also trying to grow my blogroll.

Email me: lily.leung@utsandiego.com | Tweet me: @LilyShumLeung | Subscribe to this blog.

A debate between real estate brokers and websites like Zillow and Trulia over listing data continues as the San Diego region’s Multiple Listing Service seeks to control content to outside parties.

Sandicor, the county’s MLS, has added a text field to its listings that allows members to enter contact information, including names, email addresses and brokerage websites. The information, along with the usual listing data, would be disseminated by syndication websites such as ListHub and Point2 Agent, which are sources of information for popular real estate sites.

The main idea is that the contact information in the extra field would be displayed prominently for home hunters to see, nixing any confusion over the listing agent and an agent who is advertising on Trulia or Zillow.

The change, in the works since October, follows last week’s heated discussion after a San Diego brokerage cut ties with those two real estate behemoths.

“I think it will be clear to consumers if they want to contact the listing agent, they can,” Sandicor CEO Ray Ewing said. “If not, they can contact others who have ads around (the listings.) We give them the choice.”

Real estate brokers, who can opt-out of filling out the new field, also will benefit because the extra information will help drive traffic back to their websites, Ewing added.

It is believed Sandicor is the first MLS to make such a system change, Ewing said. But he adds that at least one real estate brokerage in the U.S. has something similar in place.

Sandicor said it has alerted ListHub and Point2 Agent of the shift. Whether the companies pull in the new data is up to them, Ewing said. It’s also important to note that real estate brokerages decide if they send their data to listing syndicators.

Zillow’s response?

“I don’t see any direct impact to Zillow, but we haven’t talked to Sandicor about what this means,” said company spokeswoman Cynthia Nowak. “In general, more information about a listing is in the best interest of consumers so we welcome it.”

Trulia could not immediately be reached for comment. I’ve also put media requests to Point2 Agent and ListHub, which is owned by Realtor.com.

UPDATE 10:34 a.m. ON WEDNESDAY: Luke Glass, general manager of ListHub, confirmed Sandicor notified ListHub of the change on Jan. 17. Glass’ comment in a written statement: “At ListHub, we respect the rights of all brokers as the owners of the listing content, as well as their responsibility to market property listings in the way they believe is best for their sellers.” I asked ListHub if it plans to pull in the new data. A spokeswoman said “not at this time.”The new feature will be available to Sandicor’s 17,000 members starting Wednesday and more changes are coming.

Here’s Trulia’s response in a written email to the U-T San Diego: “At Trulia, we always make it easy for consumers to contact the listing data source and the listing agent based on the information provided to Trulia. In early January, we released a data pledge to this effect.

What did Point2 say?: It plans to pull in the extra data that San Diego MLS members may put into listings, said spokesman Roger Noujeim. He added: “If stricter distribution of data is the preferred choice for some MLSs, with the intention that consumers go on to the broker or agent site for more information, Point2’s systems will cater to that need.”

The new feature will be available to Sandicor’s 17,000 members starting Wednesday and more changes are coming.

Soon, the company will decrease the number of photos that can go out to syndicators to four, down from the maximum of 25. Another upcoming change: Images sent out to outside parties will bear watermarked contact information of the listing agents.

There’s no doubt the discussion is about data and the control of data.

Here’s proof of that from the last sentence of a letter sent out to Sandicor’s members on the new-field change.

“Sandicor recognizes this new field as a vital and valuable data source for a member’s online marketing endeavors,” the letter says.

Want to read more about Sandicor’s latest change? Visit MLS Fights Back for Its Brokers, a blog from a real estate IT consulting firm.

Email me: lily.leung@utsandiego.com | Tweet me: @LilyShumLeung

Florida has retained its top spot as America’s most popular destination for international property buyers researching the market on the web.

According to the U.S. residential listings site Point2, “Florida was the most attractive state for international visitors in Q4 2011, retaining the top spot among all U.S. states, for the second consecutive quarter.”

Homes in “Florida attracted 31.04% of all international traffic to the U.S. in Q4, yielding just under 2% of its Q3 share to competing states,” Point2 told OPP this week.

“Arizona held its position as the second most popular online destination, and increased its share of traffic from 15.15% in Q3, to 19.44%. Nevada also carried over its Q3 spot, holding to third place, with a marginal increase in its share of traffic (8.61% versus 8.22%).”

However, says Point2, “total international traffic to the top ten states saw a significant drop, decreasing by 23.41% in Q4 vs. the previous quarter, and by 31.59% versus Q4, 2010.”

The global recession is not over yet, and buyers from places like China appear to be getting more reticent. The most populr source country was Canada.

“Canadian traffic once again generated the highest number of online visits to all top ten states, with a highlight 93.58% to Arizona, 78.28% to Hawaii and 74.11% to Michigan,” Point2 told OPP.

“The United Kingdom and Mexico also retained their spots as second and third highest traffic generators to the U.S., in the quarter.”

Las Vegas was the most popular city for overseas property buyer enquiries, taking 14.53% of all traffic in the October to December period.,

“Mesa in Arizona followed in second place with Orlando, Florida. in third,” says Point2. And “the top 20 cities list included seven cities in Florida, down from eight in Q3. Arizona had 5 cities in the top 20, compared to three in the prior quarter, and Puerto Rico had three, up from just two in the previous quarter.”

By Inman News
Thursday, February 2, 2012

Read this article on INMAN News

Florida remained the most popular U.S. property search destination among foreign house hunters during the last three months of 2011, according to a quarterly report from real estate technology and marketing company Point2.

Point2′s International Real Estate Traffic Report, which debuted in December, tracks visits from non-U.S. consumers to listings pages on the company’s public-facing property portal, Point2Homes.

During the fourth quarter. Point2Homes had an average of 800,000 U.S. listings, and international traffic accounted for 35 percent of traffic to the site.

The 10 most popular areas — nine states plus Puerto Rico — captured 84.9 percent of the site’s international traffic overall, little changed from the third quarter of 2011 and the same period a year ago.

“International interest presents a good opportunity for the savvy (real estate) agent. Those who can effectively market to international buyers interested in their city, by better understanding who they are, will be better equipped to tap this opportunity,” said Saul Klein, senior vice president for Point2.

Source: Point2

Florida was by far the most popular state, capturing 31 percent of international traffic to all U.S. listings, a slight drop from its 33 percent share in the third quarter. Arizona and Nevada held their No.2 and No. 3 spots, each increasing market share to 19.4 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively. California, U.S. territory Puerto Rico, Michigan, Texas, Hawaii, Georgia and New York also stayed in the top 10, though Michigan and Texas traded the No. 6 and 7 spots.

Top 10 states by share of international real estate traffic (Q4):

Source: Point2

Canada was by far the biggest source of international traffic for these 10 areas, accounting for the highest share of foreign traffic in all and the majority of foreign traffic in six: Arizona, where Canadians made up 93.6 percent of foreign traffic; Hawaii (78.3 percent); Michigan (74.1 percent); California (73.7 percent); Florida (65.9 percent); and Nevada (63.2 percent). Point2 is based in Saskatoon, Canada.

“We continue to see consistent international interest in U.S. real estate, particularly from Canadians, who typically travel to the U.S. for holidays. Many Canadians own property in the U.S., typically in warmer regions. We also find that there is interest in states with close proximity to Canada where the opportunity to own or invest in real estate seems very attractive, such as Michigan,” Klein said.

“In our opinion, the key drivers include a relatively strong Canadian dollar, ample inventory and motivated sellers.”

As in the third quarter, the United Kingdom and Mexico were the second- and third-biggest sources of international traffic to these 10 areas last quarter. Georgia had the biggest share of traffic from the U.K. among the 10, accounting for 11.3 percent of that state’s overall international traffic. Texas saw the biggest share of international traffic from nearby Mexico, making up 10.2 percent of the territory’s overall foreign traffic.

Las Vegas was the most popular city for foreigners, accounting for 14.5 percent of overall international visits to U.S. cities. Mesa, Ariz., was second, followed by Orlando, Fla.

Among the top 20 most popular cities, Florida accounted for seven, down from eight in third-quarter 2011; Arizona, five, up from three in the third quarter; Puerto Rico, three, up from two; California, two, down from four; and Nevada, Michigan and New York, one each.

Las Vegas attracted nearly all of Nevada’s international traffic in the fourth quarter (90.1 percent) with Canada as the leading source (62.1 percent), followed by Russia (10.7 percent), and Australia (3.7 percent).

International traffic was more evenly spread across Florida’s cities. Orlando attracted the biggest share (9.8 percent), followed by Pompano Beach (9.3 percent) and Kissimmee (7.5 percent). In Orlando, Canada accounted for 28.5 percent of foreign traffic, followed by Puerto Rico (20.8 percent) and the U.K. (12.7 percent). In Pompano Beach, Canada led the vast majority of traffic, 90.1 percent, followed distantly by Venezuela at 2.9 percent.

Canada also accounted for the vast majority of international traffic in Mesa and Detroit, the second and fifth most popular U.S. cities, respectively.

Mesa attracted 29 percent of overall international traffic to Arizona. Canada made up nearly 98 percent of international traffic to the city, followed by Albania at 0.6 percent.

In California, Indio was the most searched city, attracting 17.9 percent of the state’s international traffic. Canada accounted for 91.6 percent of the city’s foreign traffic, followed by the U.K. (4.9 percent), and Mexico (3.6 percent).

In Puerto Rico, San Juan was the most popular city with 18.1 percent of the territory’s fourth-quarter international traffic. Canada led among site visitors (24.5 percent), followed by Spain (12.7 percent), and Mexico (6.4 percent).

Florida attracted the most attention from international home shoppers who visited the Point2Homes consumer real estate listings portal for information on U.S. real estate in the fourth quarter.

The San Diego-based firm released its U.S. International Real Estate Traffic Report for the fourth quarter, which shows Florida ranked first in the nation when it comes to its popularity among international investors.

The state attracted 31% of all international traffic to its site, while Arizona came in second, drawing 19.44% of the site’s international traffic.  The state of Nevada ranked third after seeing its share of foreign-based traffic edge up to 8.61%, compared to 8.22% the previous quarter.

As for where the international travelers were coming from, Point2 said Canadian traffic generated the highest number of online visits. About 93% of Canadian visitors scoped out properties in Arizona, while 78% looked at homes in Hawaii and 74% reviewed homes listed in Michigan.

The United Kingdom and Mexico ranked second and third, respectively, in terms of international traffic numbers.

Read this article on National Mortgage Professional

Point2 has released its U.S. International Real Estate Traffic Report, for the fourth quarter of 2011. During the period, Florida was the most attractive state for international visitors, retaining the top spot among all U.S. states, for the second consecutive Point2 report quarter. The study analyzes international traffic to U.S. properties posted on the Point2 Homes consumer real estate listings portal. Florida attracted 31.04 percent of all international traffic to the U.S. in Q4, yielding just under two percent of its third quarter share to competing states. Arizona held its position as the second most popular online destination, and increased its share of traffic from 15.15 percent in Q3, to 19.44 percent. Nevada also carried over its Q3 spot, holding to third place, with a marginal increase in its share of traffic (8.61 percent vs. 8.22 percent).

The top 10 states identified in Point2’s Q3, 2011 report all retained their top 10 ratings, with the majority holding the same rankings. Only Michigan and Texas traded spots, swapping seventh and sixth place positions, respectively. Total international traffic to the top 10 states saw a significant drop however, decreasing by 23.41 percent in Q4 versus the previous quarter, and by 31.59 percent versus Q4, 2010.

Arizona held up the best, letting off just 1.7 percent of its total international traffic versus the third quarter. Texas saw the largest drop amongst the top ten, losing 39.27 percent versus Q3. Georgia, the ninth most attractive state for international traffic, saw a 29.29 percent drop in visitors. Florida, the lead state, gave up 28.02 percent.

Canadian Web traffic generated the highest number of online visits to all top 10 states, with a highlight 93.58 percent to Arizona, 78.28 percent to Hawaii and 74.11 percent to Michigan. The United Kingdom and Mexico also retained their spots as second and third highest traffic generators to the U.S., in Q4.

This week, the California real estate firm Point2Homes released its U.S. International Real Estate Traffic Report for Q4, and it’s got some great news for the State of Florida.  According to the 2012 real estate investment report, Florida was no. 1 in the country for foreign real estate investment.

Point2Homes tallied its site traffic and discovered that 31% of international visitors to its real estate web site were investigating Florida real estate investment possibilities.  And it’s not a close call – Florida is clearly overshadowing the other states, as Arizona totalled 19.44% to claim second place.

From the report (which you can read and download online here):

Orlando and Pompano Beach were the top two cities for traffic coming in to Florida properties, with Orlando at 9.77% and Pompano Beach at 9.32%.

Within Florida, foreign investors were investigating the following cities in descending order of popularity:

1. Orlando (9.77)
2. Pompano Beach (9.32%)
3. Kissimmee (7.54%)
4. Miami (5.56%)
5. Davenport (3.56%)
6. St. Petersburg (2.67%)
7. Hollywood (2.25%)
8. Deerfield-Beach (2.13%)
9. Pembroke-Pines (1.87%)
10. Tampa (1.86%)

Which Foreign Countries Are Most Interested in Investing in Florida?

According to this report, Canada is searching for Florida real estate investments (and US) more than any other foreign country; however there were quite a few British subjects (United Kingdom) surfing the site for information on Florida real estate.  And, surprising to no one here in Florida, Puerto Rico remains very interested in Florida investment coming in third as Mexican investment queries tallied a solid number 3 in the national Fourth Quarter 2011 totals.