Even our television stars have surrendered to the charms of Orlando. Increasingly, not only do we see personalities strolling through Mickey Land, but many are also taking the opportunity to invest here. The list of names is long, and it's no coincidence that Orlando is the choice of many.
Forbes Magazine recently named Orlando the third best market for real estate investment. The number of visitors in 2016 again surpassed 68 million. Moneywatch ranks Orlando among the top 4 cities for return on investment, predicting an appreciation of more than 5% on the properties themselves.
These are just some of the figures that are bringing more and more investors to this area. I've talked about this before, and demand in this market is growing, as is investment, even by construction companies. More resorts are arriving, more tourists are coming and more investors are attracted to this market.
It's worth remembering that Orlando is home to one of the largest convention centers in the country, welcoming 1.4 million people in 2016. It's important to add the idea that in addition to the theme parks, which alone generate millions in business and visitors, business tourism is huge here, as well as the golf courses, which represent another loyal market for the sport and generate huge numbers in the local economy. The culinary, entertainment and shopping sectors are also growing, and the huge developments that have already been approved for construction are generating great expectations.
Investing in vacation homes can, as a very general comparison, be put in the same way as an investor who has the profile to invest in shares. You can earn a lot, but there will always be the down months, bringing that insecurity, the up and down effect, just like in the stock market. Many visitors already see vacation homes as an excellent accommodation option. People are more familiar with GPS and less afraid of driving. And it's at this point that the investor must team up with technology. If you have a vacation home, you've already analyzed and understood your income and expenditure possibilities with your broker. For those who haven't invested yet, this is an important exercise, because monthly expenses are not as low as many people think.
Occupancy of these houses is generally above 60%. I'm not going into an analysis of which size of house is most in demand and which condominiums are most in demand - we can explore that separately.
Rentals take place online in almost 100% of cases. This brings us to the factors we always need to reinvent ourselves: technology tools. Management companies will keep up with what's trending and promote your homes, as well as managing the day-to-day.
The houses that are rented out the most, and the investors who return for more, are those who see this property as a business and therefore need to do some work on their part: social media promotion such as Instagram and Facebook and rental portals such as AirBnb are now responsible for more than half of the rentals in many of the houses. These houses are rented out more than 80% of the time. There are always the lower months, when we take advantage of promotions, or even the owner staying.
The factor that will also determine whether or not there is a greater demand for the house is the decoration[watch the video below where we talk about this]. The public doesn't want a house that doesn't convey the idea of cleanliness, attractiveness and coziness. The investment in decoration, as we've explored in previous articles, is part of the investment in the property.
The basic but essential exercise is to reverse the roles. When you're looking for something for your family, would you stay in the nicest house? Is the structure and security of the resort important? As a specialist in second homes and vacation resorts, we go through these analyses every time we define an investment, studying possible scenarios, how much involvement the investor intends to have, how much and how they intend to use the property, etc., in order to have the right expectations and a successful investment.