Vero Beach Income Property

First-time buyers are finally able to afford places of their own. Retirees are paying cash, taking their money out of the stock market and putting it back into real estate. Buyers who wait until they see prices rising on Vero Beach homes will likely pay more!

Even investors are slowly returning. They're not flipping properties for quick profits anymore. Instead, they plan to rent them out, at least until the market recovers. Some Vero Beach Homes are bought from foreclosures or as "Short Sales" - where the bank takes less than mortgage balance.

Ed Gleason is due to close any day on a condo on the Vero Beach (32963) Barrier Island, but he's not stopping there. He wants to buy several properties over the next year or so, with plans to rent them. "This is the first time in years that you can buy a rental and have it pay for itself," said Gleason, 35, an architect who lives in Boca Raton. "I'm looking towards future appreciation and rental income.."

A typical home on Orchid Island now sells for less than $350,000, a price not seen here since spring 2004, according to the most recent data from the Florida Association of Realtors. Distressed properties fetch far less than that as desperate sellers and lenders slash prices to make quick sales.

Many existing condominium units, meanwhile, are going for under $200,000, nearly 30 percent less than two years ago. Age-restricted communities are seeing renewed interest in one-bedroom condos selling for less than $175,000, Vero Beach real estate agents say.

Properties in the $100,000 to $250,000 range appear to be the most popular among buyers, agents say. Despite the recent sales rise, Florida's housing market is expected to remain soft into 2009 because of the slow economy and the large supply of homes for sale .

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