Waking up from the American dream has been painful for much of the United States in terms of real estate, but there have been brighter spots of late. Perhaps it is, as one broker says, that after four years of recession and foreclosures, Americans are ready to move on with their lives, even if the prospects are not necessarily any brighter.
There are signs of an increase in energy in Atlanta, where some buy-to-rent operations are predicting returns of 12 to 17 per cent.
Promises can indeed turn to dust, but as the president and founder of Atlanta Fine Homes, David Boehmig, says: 'For a few months now, the number of homes closing and the values are both showing slight increases on a broad basis. I believe that the reason for this recovery is threefold; the interest rates are really low, prices will probably never be better, and people are, in general, ready to move on with their lives.'
The city itself is also proving a magnet for Asian interest, underpinned by the fact that it is the home of Coca-Cola. The company is pouring US$4 billion into the mainland, and the investment traffic is travelling both ways, with several big Asian companies coming into the region, bringing with them personnel who need somewhere to live.
With a little change from US$20 million, they could buy this stately mansion (pictured) with more bathrooms than bedrooms, gated and golden and ideal for entertaining, say the agents, not least because it has seven kitchens.
In Miami, the president of a firm, that is part of leading luxury home specialists Christies International Real Estate, reports that it has sold at least one home valued at US$1 million or above, every 24 hours, for the past 130 days.
The CEO of Christies, Neil Palmer, says luxury prime residential real estate in the US has always been attractive to international buyers, because it satisfies a number of fundamental investment criteria, primarily being, as he says: 'Location, location and location.