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.