The U.S. real estate market is hot when it comes to foreign buyers. But not all are looking at luxury properties. Many international buyers, according to cnbc.com, are looking for less-pricey properties. Why? Possibly due to overall higher home prices and a strong U.S. dollar. There are also fewer nonresident foreigners investing in the market. However, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), says purchases by recent immigrant foreigners are up. At Sotheby’s Scottsdale, we have many properties that are perfect fits for foreign buyers.
Between April 2015 and March 2016, NAR says foreign buyers purchases $102.6 billion of residential property in the U.S. That’s a 1.3 percent decline in dollar volume from the previous survey. However, the value of homes bought by foreigners was typically higher than the median price of all U.S. homes. Sotheby’s Scottsdale fits right in with this and helps foreign buyers on a regular basis.
The makeup of international buyers has changed, as well. Chinese buyers are continuing to outpace all others, with their dollar volume exceeding the total of the next four ranked countries combined. Canadian buyers are second. Chinese buyers are also buying the most expensive homes.
The article goes onto say that given today’s volatility in global financial markets, real estate is one of the safest ways to invest money. We couldn’t agree more at Sotheby’s Scottsdale. U.S. real estate is definitely inexpensive compared to properties in Asia. The Chinese economy has had explosive growth, leading to many wealthy people. But now China’s economy has slowed down. As a result, investors are looking to the U.S. real estate market as being a safe bet. London used to be the favorite but the impact of the Brexit vote is already hitting the house market there.
Sotheby’s Scottsdale, though, realizes this trend towards the U.S. real estate market from the U.K. could go down over the next year. But the world view of American real estate as a safe investment should stay firm.
“As for U.S. destinations, five states accounted for half of foreign buyer purchases: Florida, (22 percent), California (15 percent), Texas (10 percent), Arizona and New York (each at 4 percent). Latin Americans, Europeans and Canadians, who historically favor warmer climates, were most prevalent in Florida and Arizona. Asian buyers flocked to California and New York. Texas was more a mix of buyers from Latin American, the Caribbean and Asia. Texas may be more of an investment play, as demand for single-family rentals there remains strong.”
Sotheby’s Scottsdale continues to be a point-of-contact for these foreign buyers. But we, obviously, help anyone in the market, looking for a home.