Cesidia Cedrone has been absorbing rays in his Florida condominium every winter since 2011.
“Sunshine all the time. He doesn’t have to peel snow. The beach, La Arena …”, said the Ontarian from his second home in Findale Beach, halfway between Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Last week, his retirement reverie came to an end when Cedrone and her husband signed the closing documents in their house sale.
“Things changed so drastically. The Canadian dollar is not along with the US dollar,” he said. “That was behind our main decision to sell.”
Other reasons also played a role: higher insurance rates, taxes and condominium rates.
“For us Canadians is a double blow,” Cedrone said, pointing to a Loonie that lies for approximately 69 US cents, in addition to the growing maintenance costs.
“We love this place. But it reached a point now, we are in our 70 years, and it is cheaper for me to come here two months and rent.”
Cedrone is not alone. Many snow birds are fighting to sell their houses in Florida, since a weak Loonie and the high costs of insurance cause a Canadian exodus of the state of sun.
The Canadians represented almost a quarter of foreign vendors in Florida between April 2023 and March 2024 compared to 11 percent in the same period of the previous year, according to a report by the National Association of Real Estate Agents.
The real estate broker Alexandra Dupont, who sells properties largely to cheese in southeast Florida, says she is juggling twice her typical workload with more than 30 listings.
“I’ve never had so much in a decade. I picked up three new listings on Monday. That has never happened to me in one day,” he said last week.
The properties used to last in the market for one or two days before being collected, said his father and real estate partner, Sylvain Dupont.
The Florida headquarters with headquarters in Florida, Alexandra Dupont, says that some of her Canadian customers are selling her properties in Florida due to the decrease in the Canadian dollar.
“Now the minimum in southwest Florida is 90 days, and they are not yet sold. The inventory grows every day,” said Dupont, noting that most of his clients are inhabitants of Ontario and Quebers.
“We believe the market will collapse very soon. People are panic now.”
As for whether Donald Trump’s return to the White House helped away homes, the president of the United States has taken an aggressive stance in Canada, threatening the general rates and questioning his sovereignty, Sylvain Dupont made echo The observations of several corridors and sellers: “I do not think it is a policy; it is money, economy, inflation.”
Residents and real estate agents say that the highest cost of living, risk of natural disasters and a growing flavor for traveling to different destinations every winter account for the flight from Florida.
The Canadian dollar has been around less than 70 cents in recent weeks, continuing a decrease that began in early October due to a slower pace of tariff cuts by the United States Federal Reserve.
“In Canadian dollars, last week I paid $ 18 for 18 eggs,” Cedrone said.
But the Canadian outputs were collecting even before that slide.
Insurance premiums have shot in recent years due to the most extreme climate, which cost Cedrone more than $ 16,000 us a year, 10 times the rate when it bought the property for the first time.
It also paid us almost $ 4,000 in taxes versus $ 1,500 US a decade and a half makes.
Meanwhile, the updates of the property required by the strictest construction codes meant that the residents had to cough thousands more in recent years, which forced the couple to reread their second home.
Questions about safety in storm -prone regions
Some would prefer to wander instead of hangers.
“Younger couples or people want to travel. They will spend a winter in Portugal, or they will go to Miami, they will go to Mexico, or will go to the Dominican Republic,” said Sylvain Dupont, referring to the newest retirees.
“Buying a place in Florida is like our grandparents and our parents used to do. Young people no longer,” he said. “They don’t want to be in the same place.”
Especially in certain places.
The past fall, Hurricanes Helene and Milton crossed Florida, causing almost $ 40 billion of the United States in insured losses. The total amounted to 63 percent of all insured losses caused by severe storms worldwide last year, according to a new report by the Reinsurance Corridor Gallagher Re.
These consecutive cyclones followed Hurricane Ian in the autumn of 2022. The US $ 113 billion of the hurricane in damage for damage made him the third most expensive storm in the history of the country. Six Florida insurance companies retired the following year.
How the same storm that brought unique snow in life to the Gulf coast also brought winds of unique hurricanes to the United Kingdom
Housing owners in Florida now pay more than three times the national average to ensure their properties, according to the Insurance Information Institute, which makes Florida the most expensive home insurance state in the United States
In addition to the effect of climate change on premiums, there is also the question of security and a perpetual sensation of precariousness in storm -prone regions.
“I will not go anywhere that has hurricanes,” said Laurie Lavine, a Arizona -based real estate agent whose clientele consists of much of the Canadians.
A former Alberta, Lavine, said most customers share their feelings.
However, he has observed a recent increase in Canadian listings in his recently deserted state. Again, spending is the final result.
“It is costing $ 20,000 a year just to have the property, between public services and taxes and all transport costs of possessing a property here. They are simply not going down as much as they want due to the Canadian dollar.” saying.
Lavine said he will handle eight listings, all owned by Canada, in the coming weeks, twice his typical load.
The game is not strictly of stationary houses.
“The Rodantes Casa Park where we are normally full of Canadians and Americans from cold weather places,” he said from the Phoenix area. “This year has dropped 30 percent.”
