“Foreign buyers are experiencing hurdles not only abroad, butrnalso here in the U.S. when it comes to purchasing property,” saidrnNAR President Gary Thomas. “Difficult economic conditions,rnparticularly in Europe, have impacted foreign buyers, but severalrnfactors in the U.S. have also affected their purchasing power here.rnTight credit standards have made financing challenging forrnimmigrants, and low housing inventories have made finding a houserndifficult. However, none of these factors appear to be permanent.” </p

Twenty-seven percent of Realtors responding to the survey saidrnthey had worked with international clients this year and reportedrnpurchases from 68 countries. Five countries have historicallyrnaccounted for the bulk of purchases; Canada (23 percent), China (12rnpercent), Mexico (8 percent), India (5 percent) and the UnitedrnKingdom (5 percent). These five countries accounted for approximatelyrn53 percent of transactions, with Canada and China the fastest growingrnsources over the years.</p

Canadian buyers gravitate toward properties in Florida, Arizona,rnand California and purchase at a median price of $183,000. Chinesernbuyers also tend to purchase in California but are higher end buyersrnat a median price of $425,000. Mexicans buy in California and Texasrnand spend a median of $156,250.</p

Thomas said international buyers tend to cluster in specificrnlocations which are based on their countries of origin and otherrnfactors. “Many factors influence foreign buyers’ decisions onrnwhere to purchase in the U.S., but the most important are proximityrnto home country, presence of relatives and friends, availability ofrnjob and education opportunities, and the climate.” Some arernlooking for trophy properties, he said, while others are interestedrnin modest vacation homes.</p

The Sun Belt states listed above plus New York make up 62 percentrnof all international purchases. Twenty-three percent of sales arernattributed to Florida and 17 percent to California. About half ofrnbuyers pick suburban areas while a quarter prefer a centralrncity/urban area. Sixty-three percent of transactions were all-cashrnand international buyers tended to purchase homes where the mean andrnmedian were both higher when compared to purchases of domesticrnbuyers. Nationally the mean purchase price of an international salernwas $275,862 compared to $179,867 spent by a domestic buyer.

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