A quarter of U.S. Realtors report more foreigners are buying real estate here, according to a report issued by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in June 2007. Now, the number of foreign buyers is likely to be even higher as the dollar continues to weaken relative to foreign currencies.
The NAR estimates that when foreigners buy a home in the U.S., they’re receiving a 30% discount on average (because of the value of the dollar). Many foreigners are buying vacation homes in destination cities like Miami and, yes, Phoenix.
In fact, I blogged before about being quoted in the Calgary Herald; there’s a lot of interest among our neighbors up North – it is after all, in the 70s here in the winter (who could resist?).
Foreign interest in U.S. real estate has picked up so much, in fact, that real estate agents are trying a number of tricks to attract foreign buyers – from advertising fluency in other languages to offering to pay for the plane tickets and hotel rooms of visitors who buy homes here.
“Agents are eager to win the business of foreign investors who are swooping in to buy property in the USA as home prices plummet and the dollar's weak value produces eye-popping deals for international buyers,” wrote Stephanie Armour recently in USA Today.
If you’re an out-of-country buyer looking for real estate in the U.S., there are a few tips you need to keep in mind:
- Find an experienced real estate agent who can help you learn about the local real estate markets in areas where you’re interested
- Hire a good real estate attorney in the U.S. who can help you make sure you follow all of the U.S. laws which, let’s face it, can be kind of convoluted
- Make the investment in a trip to visit before you buy; like people, homes always look different in real life than they do in the pictures
If you’re selling a home in an area that might be attractive to foreign buyers (in a resort-style community, condo building, by a golf course, in a retirement community, for example) there are a number of steps you can take to up your chances of attracting a foreign buyer:
- Work with a real estate agent who has connections abroad
- Bear in mind cultural differences
- Understand how the exchange rate will affect your prospective buyers’ decisions
- Think about what your prospective buyers care about (that U.S. buyers might not)
- Talk with an experienced lawyer to make sure that you’re crossing all your legal T’s and dotting all your I’s – the rules can be somewhat different for foreign buyers.
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