NEWS ORRA director set to lead MFRMLS as its next president Mike McGraw installed as 2017-2018 president-elect and joins three more ORRA REALTOR® members on the MFRMLS Board of Directors Orlando REALTOR® Mike McGraw, RE/MAX Central Realty, has been installed as 2017-2018 president-elect of My Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service. McGraw, who is an ORRA member and serves on the ORRA Board of Directors, will automatically assume the MFRMLS president position in 2018-2019. McGraw explains that his objectives during his terms as president-elect and then as president will be to provide more services and benefits to assist REALTORS® in their daily business. He also points out that ORRA members are welcome to call or e-mail any of those that represent ORRA’s interests on the MFRMLS board of directors, and can expect to have their questions answered and issues addressed. ORRA currently enjoys a total of five representatives on the MFRMLS board of directors. In addition to McGraw, ORRA member Sean Ferguson, BHHS Results Realty, serves as the group’s immediate past president while three ORRA members serve as 2017-2018 directors: • Dore Ann Baratta, BHHS Results Realty; • Ryan Ditmar, Easy Street Florida Realty, Inc. and • Gary Williams, Coldwell Banker Residential RE. Orlando REALTORS® trek north to encourage Canadian buying Canadian nationals make up approximately 8 percent of Orlando’s international buyers and purchase hundreds of homes each year Our neighbors to the north made up the third-largest population of Orlando’s international homebuyers in 2016, spending an estimated $128 million to purchase more than 450 residential properties. To entice more of those buyers, the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association and the Global Real Estate Council of Orlando, an ORRA specialty group, sent a delegation of members to the world’s largest trade show for Canadian real estate agents. Twelve Orlando REALTORS®, including ORRA President Bruce Elliott, Regal R.E. Professionals LLC, traveled to Toronto for REALTOR® Quest 2017, May 10 – 11, and set about touting the virtues of owning a vacation home in the City Beautiful. "The international real estate market is crucial to Orlando’s real estate industry and overall economy,” explains Elliott. “Orlando drew 12 percent of Florida’s international homebuying activity in 2016, up from 8 percent in 2015 and making it the state’s second most popular location for foreign nationals to purchase a home.” According to the National Association of REALTORS® Profile of International Residential Real Estate Activity in Florida, 2016 Report, Canadians made up 8 percent of Orlando’s global homebuyers in 2016, behind only Brazil (19 percent) and the United Kingdom (15 percent). The study findings also show that Canadians favor purchasing homes in the U.S. for vacation purposes, furthering local REALTORS’® intent to make certain Canadian real estate agents are well aware of all that Orlando offers to their clients. Of course Orlando offers foreign-national homebuyers sunny weather and ideal location with an international airport and easy access to both the beach and world-class theme parks. It also provides a variety of settings that are popular with Canadian homebuyers, from resort to urban. Orlando also boasts a number of practical elements that attract international homebuyers. It has a healthy economy that supports a thriving real estate market, which reassures buyers that their home purchase is a good investment. In addition, home prices in Orlando are still below peak levels. Finally, Orlando is home to a great many REALTORS® and affiliated professionals — such as attorneys, title and escrow providers, and lenders — who have experience and training in the complexities of a global real estate transaction. Canadian nationals made up 8% Oh Canada! of Orlando's residential real estate purchases by international homebuyers in 2016. Source: NAR Profile of International Real Estate Activity in Florida, 2016 8 Orlando REALTOR® July / August 2017
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