While nearly 70 percent of the United States was covered in snow last week – including parts of Hawaii — the state of Florida reported balmy temperatures in the 70s and sun. And real estate agents in the area can’t wait to get that news out there to potential buyers[1]. Of course, the idea of using the weather in Florida as a selling point is nothing new, but now that Florida appears to have the monopoly on 12-month sunshine, agents are eager to press home the advantage.
“What it really comes down to is would you rather shovel two feet of snow or go to the beach to shovel sand?” said Coldwell Banker broker associate Joseph Santini. When you add in factors like no state income tax and the massive volume of short sale properties and discounted foreclosure properties on the market in Florida, hacking inches of ice off your windshield just can’t compete, he says. In fact, Santini closed on a home sale with a Long Island, NY couple immediately following the December blizzard there, and it only took one snow storm to chase them down south. “They said with that first snow storm, ‘This is it. We’ve had it,’” he said.
Of course, as the snow melts, the advantage for Florida fades. Santini predicts that once meteorologists are no longer predicting “snow bombs” for the majority of the country, the weather appeal will decline back to normal levels for Florida home sales. The key, he said, is to promote weather while it’s news: “People tend to forget about the weather as it warms up.”
Are you rethinking your investing options because of the recent snowfall?
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[1]http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110117/BUSINESS/110117002/1006/NEWS01/Nation+s+cold+snap+may+heat+up+Florida+s+real+estate+market
