International Sales Important for Florida Real Estate

 

Florida real estate is a hot commodity for foreign buyers.

International real estate deals made up 8 percent of all existing homes sales in Florida over a one-year period ending in July 2013, according to Florida Realtors®’ recently released “2013 Profile of International Home Buyers in Florida.”

By dollar volume, international real estate transactions made up 9 percent of sales over the same period.

The report is based on an annual study done by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) in cooperation with Florida Realtors. A total of 977 Realtors responded to this year’s survey conducted July 9-Aug. 16, 2013.

For the study, foreign buyers were defined as non-resident foreigners – individuals who purchase property in the U.S. but live here only part of the year. These buyers typically use the property as a rental unit, vacation unit or both.

The international real estate market is important to Florida. Nationwide, 61 percent of all reported foreign sales take place in five states: Florida, California, Arizona, Texas and New York, according to NAR’s larger study on international homebuyer activity in the U.S. Of those five states, Florida has the largest share: 23 percent of national sales to foreign buyers closed in the Sunshine State.

For the 12 months ended July 2013, existing home sales in Florida – single-family homes, townhomes and condos – accounted for 327,350 transactions worth $74 billion dollars. Of that total, there were 22,572 transactions worth $6.4 billion dollars to foreigners.

Here are some highlights of the report:

• Canadians lead the way (30 percent of total Florida international sales) as the largest source of buyers, followed by Venezuela (8 percent), Brazil (7 percent), and the U.K. (6 percent). Boca Raton has seen a surge in Brazilian buyers according to local realtors.
• Two in three (63 percent) of Realtors in Florida have international clients, compared to the national average of 27 percent.
• 80 percent of surveyed Realtors said that international clients found Florida property less expensive than similar property in their home country. Overall, foreign buyers say the U.S. residential housing market provides a good value.
• 84 percent of international transactions are cash sales
• International buyers had a preference for detached single-family homes (47 percent of Florida foreign sales), followed by townhouses (11 percent) and condominiums (34 percent).

Another emerging trend is the number of Asians who are investing in Florida real estate. While still lagging Canada, Brazil and Venezuela, a growing number of Chinese and Japanese buyers are discovering Florida. So far, the trend seems to be seen more in Fort Lauderdale and Miami than in Boca Raton or Delray Beach but experts say it’s only a matter of time before foreign buyers discover the quality and value of Palm Beach County.