Maybe it’s a place you remember from your wilder days of youth. Or maybe you’ve always just known that you want an exotic little getaway for you and your family in the colder months. Whatever the reason, Palm Springs is becoming a huge destination point for Canadians – and Canadians looking to make the investment of owning a foreign vacation property.
We’ve talked about other foreign places that win over the hearts of Canadians – Arizona being just one of them. But unlike Arizona, Palm Springs is attracting more homeowners looking for a vacation property, rather than an investment property. And while Palm Springs has long since held many attractive elements for Canadians, Palm Springs broker Brad Schmett says that this year in particular, he’s seeing more interest than he ever has before.
He says, “It’s fairly common to see a number of Canadians arrive here in Palm Springs in advance of the January 1 launch our ‘high season.’ However, this fall we’ve seen far more Canadians arrive to purchase second homes and vacation properties than we normally see.”
Schmett also says that of his Palm Springs properties that he’s sold this year, international purchases have accounted for 2,800 of them. And most of those were purchased by Canadians.
So why all the interest?
Mr. Schmett says that it’s due to a number of reasons. One is the fact that Palm Springs real estate has been at all-time lows since 1998. Those prices are low, and on property that’s very attractive to Canadians – gated communities and golf courses typically included, says Schmett. The Canadian dollar is also performing well across the border right now, helping to boost those Palm Springs sales even further.
“With more than 8,000 resale homes and condos sold in the first three quarters of this year, sales could exceed a record for the Palm Springs area this year – in large part because of foreclosures, short sales, and other bargains that have attracted second home buyers and investors, many of which are from Canada.”
