Florida is a wonderful place to live. The state has abundant sunshine, great recreation and entertainment as well as superior infrastructure. The Florida lifestyle with its unique mix of superb golf courses, beaches, theme parks, theatres, smart shops and fine restaurants draws people from all over the US and abroad. Florida is also home to Disney World and Universal Studios, both of which make it a popular tourist destination.

As the demand for homes in Florida grew, housing construction intensified and a variety of quality homes came up across the state. Property prices shot up between 2000 and 2005, bolstered by demand from individuals and investors as well as the easy availability of credit. As prices touched historic highs, many found themselves priced out of the market. However, the price surge didn’t last long and houses across the state are more affordable today.

This could be the right time to find your place in the sun. Property prices are well below their peak values in 2005. In 2009, some premium properties were quoting at 50% of their 2005 values. In some parts of the state such as Sarasota, houses are available for as little as $47 per square foot. NBC featured Sarasota, which is less crowded than many other cities in the state, as one of the best places to live in the US with its theatres, beaches, fine dining and some great shopping. In Orlando, it’s possible to find high quality new builds at around $140 per square foot.

Few property markets in the US have fallen as hard as Florida. According to economists, home values will continue to decline in 2011 but not as sharply as in the past. Florida’s property boom came to an abrupt end in 2008 as the recession took hold, bringing unemployment, a severe credit squeeze and a spate of foreclosures in its wake. As demand dried up, real estate inventories piled up across the state. With new developments remaining unsold, construction almost came to a halt in 2009, creating a buyer’s market.

Excess supply continues to drive prices down. There are plenty of unsold properties, especially condominiums in south Florida. For the greater part of 2010, the median price of condominiums remained below $100,000 in Broward and Palm Beach. Prices might look up in 2011 because investors concluded a few bulk deals towards the end of 2010.

In Miami, the condominium market has been hit particularly badly and will take longer to recover because finance is difficult to come by. Cash buyers might find some good bargains under the circumstances. Real estate analysts expect central Florida, a popular tourist destination because of Disney World and Universal Studios, to recover earlier than most other locations in Florida.

Going into 2011, prices are continuing their downward trend but most analysts are not expecting the steep double-digit declines of 2009 and 2010. The general forecast is that taxable values will fall by around 1.45% on a state wide average in 2011, which is definitely encouraging considering those values fell by 11.09% in 2010.

Though sales volumes began to climb in 2009 and the gloom has lifted somewhat, industry experts are generally not expecting a robust recovery any time soon. Researchers at the Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies, University of Florida, found that the near-term outlook continues to be uncertain due to job losses, foreclosures and the lack of credit. However, the center director pointed to a revival of investor interest in some markets as expectations become more realistic and the gap between bids and asking prices narrows.

For those who have long wanted a vacation home in Florida, 2011 is likely a good time to shop around for well-built houses, which are nowhere near as expensive as they were in the past. With more than a few bargains to be found in south, central and north-west Florida, interesting opportunities exist for both international and domestic buyers. The good thing is that there are a number of premium properties built to word-class specifications available at more realistic prices now.

Currently, Florida Real Estate offers better value for money than many places in Europe. Properties are spacious and modern and within easy reach of excellent recreation and entertainment spots. According to analysts, those who invest in 2011 are likely to see reasonably good returns on their investment five years or more from now.

Tony Osust, director: Holprop.com Search through our large international portfolio of properties for sale and rent. Holprop.com now showcases thousands of rental and sale properties, from single family homes, commercial and recreational properties including hotels, bars-restaurants, new build or off-plan developments for sale worldwide.

See our latest Florida Property for Sale | Florida Vacation Rentals

The real estate industry sure has become competitive in recent years. I don’t say that to scare you, but only to voice what you probably already know. The number of real estate agents in the United States is staggering — and well into the millions. If that weren’t enough, there’s also an explosion in the number of real estate “self help” websites such as HouseValues and Zillow.

What’s the result? Well, for one thing, real estate marketing has gotten a lot harder to succeed with. Real estate agents have to work smarter, use more marketing channels than before, and truly “out-think” their competition in order to succeed.

To help you achieve those marketing goals, I’ve compiled some real estate marketing tips. I hope these tips make your marketing a little less intimidating and a lot more effective.

1. Grow Your Web Presence

A website is one entity. A web presence is a combination of online entities, each one reinforcing and supporting the next. When you combine online marketing tools (such as your website, a real estate blog, online press releases and articles), you can steadily increase the number of ways people find you. Also, by being “ever present” on the Web, you will reinforce your brand and be better able to position yourself as an authority. I feel so strongly about this particular real estate marketing tip that I’ve written a training manual about the real estate web presence.

2. Start a Real Estate Blog

A real estate blog can help you grow your marketing program in several ways. Once they are set up, blogs are easy to use. Because of this simplicity, you’ll be more likely to publish online content through your real estate blog. The more publish, the stronger your web presence. The stronger your web presence, the more likely will be to (A) find you online and (B) respond to what they find. Thus, starting a blog makes the list of top marketing tips for real estate professionals.

3. Add Some PR to Your Marketing

Public relations (PR) seems to be the forgotten tool of real estate marketing. This is a real shame, too, because PR is a highly effective marketing technique when properly used. In fact, it’s a real estate marketing tip I refer back to time and time again. Public relations can involve many things — a real estate article in your local newspaper, a well-timed press release, a free seminar on the home buying process — there’s no end to the possibilities. Best of all, many real estate PR techniques are free (aside from your time and effort).

4. Tune Up Your Direct Marketing

A lot of real estate agents are beginning to develop tunnel vision with regard to the Internet. What I mean is, they are focusing on their Internet presence to such a degree that they have forgotten about other forms of marketing. The Internet is a powerful marketing channel, but it’s not the only one. Various types of direct marketing and public relations (next item) can be used to broaden and strengthen your real estate marketing program as a whole.

Here’s a marketing tip for real estate agents using direct marketing tactics, such as real estate postcards. Tune up your direct marketing. Do some testing to find out what’s working and what’s not. Then do more of the good and less of the bad. Experiment with new forms of direct marketing. Add value to your message. Strengthen your offer. Give people an incentive to respond. Use the proven techniques of direct mail marketing to boost your success.

5. Strive for Talkability

You won’t be able to find “talkability” in the dictionary. But it’s extremely relevant to your real estate marketing program, so it makes my list of top marketing tips for real estate agents. I define talkability as the ease with which a product or service can be talked about. In other words, when you have talkability, people are more inclined to talk about your services. This leads to referrals, recommendations and word-of-mouth marketing. So how do you increase your talkability? Read this article to find out.

Conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed my list of real estate marketing tips, and I hope you can apply at least one of them to your own marketing in some positive way. Good luck in all your marketing ventures!

* You may republish this article online if you retain the author’s byline and the active hyperlinks below. Copyright 2007, Brandon Cornett.

About the Author
Brandon Cornett is the publisher of ArmingYourFarming.com, where you can find hundreds of additional tips on real estate lead generation, marketing and much more. Visit http://www.armingyourfarming.com

Some consider this current situation very similar to the 1960s and they have plenty of reasons to do so. Back then you could finance a two-bedroom house for $6,999. 10 years later, a typical Florida house was approximately $15,000. Through inflation alone, that home would have cost about $32,000 by 1980. But, in fact, a typical Florida home sold for about $45,000 by 1980. It was much the same story during the 1990s. If home prices followed inflation, your typical house would have cost $66,500 at the end of the decade. But in 2000, Florida homes were valued at $105,500. The decade produced home appreciation 59 percent above inflation. Moving on to the present, a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom house in Lehigh Acres is just $31,000. If you wanted to purchase the same house a few years ago, it would probably have had a price of more than $50,000.

Although this is terrible news for sellers, we cannot hide the fact that this is great piece of information for potential buyers. Speaking of, the number of people that want to buy a house in Lehigh Acres and in all Florida is very generous. There are logical reasons for this situation as the Sunshine State offers great weather through the entire year, nice beaches, friendly neighborhood and many more. As far as the entire state is concerned, home prices have fallen about 20 percent in the past year and this trend will continue in 2011.

Speaking of the 1960s, the actual mortgage rates are easily comparable to those times which mean that the potential home buyer has a much stronger financial power. Even the smallest percentage can make a crucial difference. For example, a $100,000 home in Florida, a half of 1% could save the home owner almost $500 per year; it is not much it’s something. Buyers can get more home for the money, which is a perfect scenario for families looking to upsize.

Sale numbers are quite high, despite the current lockdown in the national real estate situation, which means that the inventory levels are dropping slowly, but surely. Real estate experts affirm that now it is the ideal time to purchase a home because prices will most likely start to rise again in the years to come, even though they will not reach the 2005-2006 prices which were overinflated anyway. This recommendation is for families that are looking to buy a new home; for people thinking of retiring and of course, for investors that have a few money saved for such special occasions – an opportunity to make a fortune in the years to come when prices will go up again.

Florida has a lot to offer to its inhabitants – it has a very strong economy, especially in healthcare and technology sectors. From a more social point of view, it is a great place for kids being a very peaceful neighborhood and offers very good schools. We will let you discover other benefits of living here after you purchase your very own home in the Sunshine State.

Article written by Adrian Padeanu. Purchase Lehigh Acres real estate at affordable prices by visiting our online real estate guide at www.floridalehighacres.com.