Foreigners buying up Tampa house by house

TAMPA - If the local real estate market is so bad, why are foreign buyers from around the globe pouring some $10 million dollars a month into Bay Area real estate?
 
Experts believe the Canadians, Europeans and South Americans are seeing something many of us here at home are missing.

Avery Coryell and his family run a beach resort on the southeast coast of Ireland.  But Coryell is building his retirement on the Florida Gulf Coast.

"I'm looking for distressed properties, foreclosed properties, three or four bedrooms," said Coryell via Skype from Tramore, Ireland.

Coryell  has purchased six homes in Tampa for prices he could only dream about in Ireland.

"You're literally buying these properties for a third or a quarter of what it would cost to build them. Sooner or later, the market will correct. The value of these properties has got to double to triple," said Coryell.

Like most foreign investors, Coryell  is hoping for appreciation, but is primarily looking for cash flow.

Foreign investors also rely on U.S. based property managers that help them find properties, make the purchases, rehab the property, find renters and collect the rent.

Peter K. Murphy of Home Encounter of Tampa said fully one-third of his clients are foreign.

"Tampa Bay has a unique mix of super-low prices and reasonably high rents. What it does is create a model for investing that produces a yield that is very attractive," said Murphy.

A recent study shows Florida is attracting nearly a third of all the foreign real estate buyers in the U.S.  But Tampa's prices are rock bottom and irresistible especially to the Canadians, the French and the Irish.

"In Ireland, house prices are still high while rents are low. In Tampa, house prices are low and rents are high. It's a real simple no-brainer for me," said Coryell.

There is a catch. These inexpensive fixer-uppers are generally available only to cash buyers. Most Bay Area banks are not writing loans for cheap houses.

So not only are these foreign buyers paying with cash, they're employing painters, and plumbers and roofers to restore the homes to livable condition.

"They're a great benefit to the local market.  They're buying up a lot of the product that local investors still haven't regained confidence in yet," said Murphy.

"I think America's best days are ahead of it. I wouldn't bet against America on any front. And with everything in such turmoil here in Ireland, I can't think of a safer place to put my money," said Coryell.