U.S. Real Estate Attracting Foreign Buyers

With the slide of the U.S. dollar against currencies like the euro, British pound sterling and even the Canadian “loonie,” it should come as no surprise that a just-released report from the National Association of Realtors -- 2007 NAR Profile of International Home Buying Activity (PDF 297k)-- shows that international home buying activity in the U.S. remains significant, despite the U.S. housing market slow down.
American real estate is an attractive package for the foreign buyer. Political stability, lifestyle options, lots of inventory, and a favorable currency conversion rate are helping to draw buyers from around the world. The report indicates that even more foreigners would buy if Visa restrictions did not limit “time in country” to just six months.
NAR’s survey, conducted this spring and summer, reports that one third of U.S. Realtors have done business with international clients and seven percent of agents say that more than half their transactions are with foreign buyers. While these buyers come from all over the globe, 33% are from Europe, 24% from Asia, 23% from North America (other than the U.S.) and 16% are from Latin America. Drilling down to the country level, the top five sources of foreign buyers are Mexico, The United Kingdom, Canada, India, and China.
Many of these international clients are luxury home buyers. Twenty eight percent of recent foreign buyers purchased with cash, one in four paid at least a half a million dollars for their property and seven percent spent more than a million dollars.

English Village Zoning Approved

LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ - Another step forward regarding the future of the English Village took place at Tuesday night’s Lake Havasu City Council meeting. However, everyone wasn’t happy about it, thus a 5-2 decision by the council. The vote allows owner/developer Chris Read to legally have 80% residential and 20% commercial zoning, and go vertical with a total of 5 stories in mind. The condition of his property in the north end of the village has a dismal appearance and he can now zero in on the specificity of his plans. Councilmen Dennis Schilling and Allan Sturtevant voted no on the issue. Both wanted more specific plans from Read on his goals. However, Councilwoman/Vice Mayor Margaret Nyberg told TSN “hopefully we will see something in the next few months.” She strongly supported giving Read the ok. “It probably will be more like 30%” commercial. She says a restaurant will happen and that “time shares” will probably be built, giving the city a better deal on taxes.