Foreign Home Buyers and Investors eat up Oregon Real Estate
January 23rd, 2008 by dirkknudsenHere is a good article about a topic we have just been talking about. We are experiencing a high number of Foreign Buyers here in Oregon as the US Dollar weakens against foreign currency. For some this is like playing with Monopoly money. We are yesterdays Mexico and Canada. Foreign Investors are buying a weekend home’s in the US. For many Foreigners the real American Dream is an American Home of their own. Call us to tap into this growing market!
U.S. real estate a ‘bargain’ for foreign buyers
Many paying cash as dollar falls in value
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Two years ago, while attending a home-builder convention in Orlando, Fla., a top-producing local real estate agent was bubbling over the interior design features of a vacation home.
“All of my international buyers are just going to love this,” the agent said. “I can’t wait to tell them what’s now available.”
I was intrigued. How many international buyers did she have?
It turned out that more than 60 percent of the agent’s clients were buyers from overseas. And, she is not the only real estate professional cultivating the foreign market. According to the National Association of Realtors, 65 percent of Florida Realtors had at least one international customer, and the trade group’s “Profile of International Home Buying Activity” indicated that at least 7 percent of home sales in Florida were to foreign purchasers.
“When you consider how the U.S. dollar has slid in value compared to other international currencies, you begin to understand why investors are purchasing real estate in this country,” said Mitch Creekmore, senior vice president of Stewart Title Co. “Real estate prices here are a bargain compared to many areas in western Europe and Asia.”
The currency environment probably played a major role in the proportion of foreign buyers who paid cash for their homes. The cash group (28 percent) was much greater than that of the general U.S. home buyer population (8 percent). In addition, international buyers who can afford a home abroad often are from wealthier households with higher monthly incomes and cash reserves. Also, the tax benefits of mortgage-interest deductions may not apply — depending on the buyer’s home country’s tax code — which lowers the incentive to take out a mortgage.
Buyers come from around the world to buy different types of properties at various prices. They plan on using the U.S. property for different reasons. Here are some common factors from NAR:
- The typical international buyer purchased a single-family home or townhouse. The primar
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