They come from Toronto, London and Dusseldorf, and they're all here for the deals.

 Foreign buyers are on the hunt for real estate bargains in Southwest Florida. They scour listings from across the Atlantic and leave Canadian tundra in search of properties dotted with palms.

"They seem to be out shopping," Mary Bondurant, an agent with John R. Wood Realtors on Sanibel, said of international buyers. "They're feeling a little optimistic about the market in general but they know it's a good time to buy in Florida."

And local real estate agents say foreign interest could help revitalize the area. International clients tend to be cash buyers who are financially stable, since many of their countries haven't weathered financial storms to the level the United States has recently.

"They're not going to be foreclosed on if they lose their job," Mark Washburn, an agent with Island Coast Realty in Fort Myers, said of foreign investors. "They're a safer bet for the market as a whole than, say, someone local here who has a lot of risk in the economy right now."

As of August, approximately 112,283 Florida Realtor members closed on roughly 90,000 deals with international clients in 2010, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors and Florida Realtors. Over the past 12 months, foreign buyers accounted for approximately 22 percent of Florida's existing home sales.

Canadian influx

Canadians dominate among international buyers in Southwest Florida - and across the state. Buyers from Canada accounted for approximately 36 percent of Florida home sales to foreigners, making them the largest sector of out-of-country buyers. Western Europeans followed at 29 percent, according to the NAR and Florida Realtors survey.

Canadian investors sought out real estate in Lee County in the 1970s, but their interest seemed to wane until about two years ago, said Gloria Tate, a real estate agent at Raso Realty in Cape Coral, who has lived in the city for more than 50 years.

Of the approximately 10 percent of Island Coast Realty's transactions that involve foreign buyers, roughly 8 percent are Canadian, Washburn said. Canadians also make up a large percentage of the area's tourist population.

Approximately 114,765 Canada residents visited Lee County in 2009, according to the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau. About 104,089 people came from the United Kingdom and 180,155 people traveled here from German-speaking countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland, according to the VCB, which spent about $265,000 on international print and online advertising during the 2009-10 fiscal year.

The Canadian influence has been so high that Dan Starowicz of Sand Castle Realty in Cape Coral kept a Canada-based phone number for a time and advertised his real estate services in Canadian newspapers. He provides a guide for foreign buyers, broken down by country, on his website.

Bondurant placed an ad in a Canadian newspaper for a woman from Canada who is selling her father's Sanibel home. The seller said she recently heard public radio commentators in her native country discuss the deals in Southwest Florida.

The growing strength of Canadian currency - called the loonie - versus the American dollar has likely helped increase interest in Florida real estate. One U.S. dollar now equals about $1.03 in Canadian currency.

In addition, the more northern country hasn't experienced bank failures or a foreclosure crisis. A Toronto client told Washburn his home hadn't dropped in value over the past few years.

"He's feeling more confident about making a purchase down here because he's doing better at home," said Washburn, who recently sold a condo at High Point Place in downtown Fort Myers to a Canadian buyer for a price in the high $200,000s, a bit higher than the median purchase price of $150,000 among Canadian buyers in Florida.

Most foreign buyers, including Canadians, pay cash, but real estate agents point out to prospects the convenience of the five or so Royal Bank of Canada branches in Southwest Florida.

"The Royal Bank of Canada has made it much easier for people to purchase here," Tate said. "Most lenders are now working with Canadians. I haven't found too many who are working with other foreign investors."

Some international buyers are looking for second homes, while others purchase investment property they rent out - at least until they're ready to make their part-time residence here.

British and German buyers have a strong presence in the area, but international interest comes from all over. Tate said she recently worked with clients who hail from Finland, Israel, Greece and North Korea. Both Tate and Starowicz reported a few inquiries from Australia as of late.

On Sanibel, Eric Pfeifer of Pfeifer Realty Group spoke with French investors looking for commercial property, plus plenty of German, British and Canadian residential prospects. He recently closed on an approximately $650,000 three-bedroom, penthouse condo in The Sanctuary on Sanibel with a couple from Switzerland.

Real estate agents say the weak dollar piques international interest, along with U.S. newspaper headlines and reports that point to Southwest Florida as a leader in foreclosure properties.