Better brush up on your British accent, put on some tea, and start following Manchester United. According to NAHB International (www.nahb.org/international), British citizens are taking advantage of a weak U.S. dollar, falling home prices in desirable markets, and comparably low closing costs to purchase housing here as either second homes, buy-to-rent properties, or investments. Interest in U.S. real estate by British buyers, as indicated by Internet searches for available properties, has grown 50 percent to a monthly average of 190,000 searches, according to Rightmove Overseas (www.rightmove.co.uk), a U.K.-based real estate portal. As of October, the company’s Web site listed nearly 2,500 properties in the States, with more than half of those in Florida, primarily in the Orlando market. The heightened interest and activity (and sales) have made the U.S. the third most popular country for Britons buying international real estate, behind France and Spain.
Learn more about markets featured in this article: Orlando, FL.
