A sagging loonie and a gradually improving Arizona resale housing market have taken a bite of Canadian snowbirds’ appetite for buying homes in the Sonoran Valley resale sector, say industry experts.
During a five-year run, ending in 2013, Canadian buyers led a charge into the valley taking advantage of a crippled housing market along with many thousands of foreclosures and a Canadian dollar that sometimes climbed above par on the foreign exchange. Actually, there was a time during that span when Canadians were the largest segment of out-of-state buyers laying down cash for Arizona real estate.
Nowadays, not so much.
Diane Olson, a former Winnipeg police officer who now does much of her real estate business in the
Phoenix area helping Canadians find their place in the sun, sees a tempering of the market for Canadians.
“(For Canadians) I’m not sure it will ever be like it was again because the vast majority purchased when the dollar was strong and the property prices were low. Those days are gone,” she says over a recent coffee at Chandler Fashion Mall in the east valley area of Phoenix.
Since the heyday of buying that second home, resale prices have climbed by 30 per cent across the metro Phoenix area since 2011, and the Canadian dollar is now sitting around 80 cents US.
What Olson does see as a possible silver lining to this whole scenario is Canadians who bought low beginning to sell high.
“With so many Canadian buyers who purchased their homes while the dollar was at par or better they now have a nice foreign exchange gain. That exchange gain, coupled with property appreciation, is providing food for thought for some investors who are trying to decide whether to hold or sell,” she says, adding that the homes of some of her Canadian clients have doubled in price.
But with the decline in resale activity by Canadians, the rental market is seeing an uptick in interest. Industry figures show that market rents have climbed nearly six per cent in the past year.
“If we’re talking here about those potential Canadian buyers who feel they missed the market, it is my opinion that many of them will rent here in Arizona,” says Olson. “After a winter like last year, I’m sure rentals are going fast. As a matter of fact, I’ve had to try to find a few and can’t. They’re getting snapped up very quickly
.As an aside, Burk talks about a rental property he has in Whitefish, Mont., that for the past few years has been rented to Canadians. This past year, more Americans than Canadians were renting it.
“This may be further evidence that Canadian activity in the U.S. is waning,” he says.
SOURCE:http://calgaryherald.com/life/homes/rec-properties/arizona-real-estate-market-returning-to-normal-conditions
