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Foreign buyers purchased fewer U.S. existing homes from April 2018 through March 2019. That’s according to a report the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released July 17. The report, “Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate 2019,” is an annual survey of residential purchases from international buyers. It revealed that foreign buyers purchased $77.9 billion of U.S. existing homes during the 2019 survey period, a 36% drop from the $121 billion reached in the previous 12 months. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, noted that many factors contributed to the decline. “A confluence of many factors—slower economic growth abroad, tighter capital controls in China, a stronger U.S. dollar and a low inventory of homes for sale—contributed to the pullback of foreign buyers,” he said. “However, the magnitude of the decline is quite striking, implying less confidence in owning a property in the U.S.” China bought an estimated $13.4 billion worth of residential property, a 56% drop from the previous 12 months, but still enough for it to be the top foreign buyer in terms of dollar volume for the seventh consecutive year. Rounding out the top five foreign buyers in terms of dollar volume were: 2. Canada, $8.0 billion 3. India, $6.9 billion 4. United Kingdom, $3.8 billion 5. Mexico, $2.3 billion Like China, the other countries represented in the top five experienced a decline in the dollar value of purchases compared to the previous 12 months. Florida received the greatest amount of investment activity, attracting 20% of foreign buyers, including 42% of Canadian buyers. California attracted 12% of the international purchases. Texas was third at 10%, attracting interest primarily among Indian and Mexican buyers. Arizona accounted for 5% of the international buyers, followed by New Jersey, which attracted 4%. Several states fell in the 3% investment group: North Carolina, Illinois, New York and Georgia. The median purchase price for foreign buyers was $280,600, above the $259,600 average for all U.S. existing homes sold. Eight percent of international buyers paid $1 million or more, compared to 3% of all U.S. existing homebuyers. “Even though numbers were lower this year than during the previous 12 months, international investors and buyers still spent and invested a great deal of money in U.S. real estate,” said NAR President John Smaby. NAR’s “2019 Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate” was conducted April 5 through May 3, 2019. The survey presents information about transactions with international clients during the 12-month period between April 2018 and March 2019. The report can be ordered by calling 800-874-6500, or online at www.nar.realtor/prodser.nsf/Research.
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