Record number of foreign buyers for residential real estate

On Behalf of | Jul 25, 2017 | residential real estate

Florida is one of the three states that is seeing the largest number of foreign real estate purchases. The other two are California and Texas. From April 2016 to March 2017, foreign purchase of real estate hit an all-time high, and half of those purchases were in the aforementioned three states. New Jersey and Arizona were also popular. Overall, more than 284,000 homes were purchased by foreign buyers.

The largest number of buyers were from China, and they spent around $31.7 billion. Canadians spent $19 billion followed by buyers from the United Kingdom and Mexico, who spent more than $9 billion each. In fifth place were Indian buyers at $7.8 billion. Since the dollar is currently strong against other currencies, the jump has come as a surprise. It is believed that despite the expense, real estate in the U.S. is seen as a stable investment. However, regulations from foreign governments and uncertain immigration and trade policies in the U.S. mean that there might still be a slowdown ahead.

Canadians largely bought homes in Florida, and the average price of those homes was $561,000. Chinese buyers spent an average of $782,000, largely in California and Texas, while Mexican buyers spent an average of $327,000 almost exclusively in Texas. Indian buyers spent an average of $522,000.

A person who is buying or selling residential real estate might want to work with an attorney throughout the process. Even if the buyer, seller or developer is experienced, it can be difficult to anticipate and navigate some of the possible legal pitfalls, including issues with zoning laws, problems with contracts, lack of disclosure, title issues and more.