Foreign Aid

Developer Jim Wallace is noticing global interest in his newest resort-style community, Rapallo at Coconut Point. He’s seen significant increases in the number of potential buyers from other countries who know they might find good deals on residential real estate due to the weak U.S. dollar.

He estimates that Canadian traffic at the Estero waterfront community, with 540 homes from $295,000 to $639,000 and plans for 256 more homes, has risen from about 5 percent to 20 percent since late last year. One out of every five or so customers who walk through Rapallo’s doors is from Canada. They’re joined by French buyers, whom Wallace rarely saw in previous developments, and by more Germans than in the past, he says.

The declining dollar might be posing woes for Americans overseas, but some businesses are finding a variety of advantages.

"I don’t see it as a weak American dollar. I actually see it as a lower American dollar, and that’s a good thing for Americans," Wallace says.

From reports of European vacationers returning home with suitcases full of items purchased here, to American manufacturers beating out foreign companies for exports, the weakened dollar is proving a boon to particular industries.

"It’s a double-edged sword," says David Jones, chairman of the board of Investors’ Security Trust in Fort Myers.

And some believe the stalled real estate market will benefit. "They’re going to find huge bargains in terms of real estate here. And that could be a factor. That could put a floor under our declining market," Jones says.

As a result of the declining dollar, foreign investors can find assets in the United States—whether through companies, banks or real estate. Their investments could help America avoid a recession, or at least make it milder, Jones adds.