Orlando’s “Canadian Invasion” continued last week with 2 bus loads of eager Canadians pulling into the Madison Condos in MetroWest Orlando for a tour and quick lecture by Condo Metropolis on the best way to purchase distressed / bank owned / inventory. Eyewitness News 9 came along for a the ride and they had their hands full with investors who were keen to talk and ready to write contracts.

MetroWest’s real estate foreclosure inventory has been the target of overseas investors since the condo crash began in 2006. First it was the Brits who came, then the south Americans and as their respective economies crashed, it seems only the Canadians are hanging in there.

“Canadians still have equity in their homes,” said Marcus Burke, broker for Condo Metropolis and MetroWest Realty. “They’ve been fiscally more responsible over the last decade and so they also have savings in their bank accounts. Add to that, the strength of their dollar and it makes perfect sense for them to invest in Orlando real estate.”

The average spend of an overseas investor is $50-100K on a condo conversion, on an all-cash basis – the only viable option when dealing with the banks. “The real problem these days is actually finding inventory,” said Burke. “While locals are still speculating that we’re not even at bottom, investors know that bottom for condos hit last year and inventory is very low. We’re seeing about a dozen offers on every unit that hits the MLS and prices have actually risen about $10K in the last 12 months. It’s a sellers market for this limited inventory and lot of locals either can’t or won’t grasp that yet.”

Look out for the Eyewitness News 9 special report with Josh Benson next month!