By Katie Davis T hese days Canadians are going for Par and it’s not in the golf course it is in your neighborhoods. With Canadians cashing in the property investments because of a weak loonie and some steady improvements in property value in some of the Sun soaked States. With Canadians pulling out of the buyers marketing some Florida devel- opers are offering discounts of up to a 35 percent to attract wealthy Canadian snowbirds. The decline of the loonie has prompted some US businesses to come up with innovative ideas to lure back Canadians and their money to the US. This is not just happening in Florida as it is being seen up and down the Southeast Coast of the US. A number of businesses in Myrtle Beach, SC have recently announced that they will start taking the loonie at par to the US dollar to encourage tourism and spending to boost the economy. With Canadians pulling out of the buyers marketing some Florida developers are offering discounts of up to a 35 percent to attract wealthy Canadian snowbirds. There is no denying that the declining loonie has had a significant impacted on Florida’s real estate market as those that got in early are selling but those looking to buy are being priced out of the market. This is not isolated to the Florida as Canadians were major buyers and now sellers of real estate in California and Arizona also, but in these States Canadian snowbird spending does not play a significant part of the overall economy like what we see in Florida. However the news is not all bad as it seems that the downturn in Canadian purchases have been more than covered with increase pur- chasing from foreign buyers from Venezuela and China, so looks like Floridians will be seeing more Red-crowned cranes and Troupial than in the days to come.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS • MAY 2016
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