Most international home buyers still prefer Florida real estate properties, based on a study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) of international home buying activities over the one-year period ended March 2013.
NAR said that over the one-year period ended March 2013, Florida real estate accounted for 23% of all international sales across the U.S. That’s almost one-fourth of total U.S. international sales.
Over the past several years, particularly since 2009, Florida surpassed all other states in international sales, with the peak in 2011 when Florida accounted 31% of all US international sales. That was nearly one-third of total US sales to global buyers as per the Buyers Guide Country Folks Grower article posted just last week.
Florida’s closest competitors are California, Texas and Arizona. California represented 17% of all international sales in the 2012-2013 period. Arizona and Texas each accounted for 9% of all global sales.
The Top 8 favorite states with their share of international sales are:
| Florida | 23 % |
| California | 17 % |
| Arizona | 9 % |
| Texas | 9 % |
| New York | 3 % |
| Virginia | 3 % |
| Georgia | 2 % |
| Nevada | 2 % |
Among international home buyers, the top buyers in Florida are from Canada, South America and Europe. It’s well known that Canadians prefer Florida because of the state’s beautiful weather, beaches and theme parks. NAR’s 2012-2013 study estimates that 71% of U.S. properties bought by Canadian homebuyers are located in Florida, Arizona and California.
South Americans target Florida because it’s the state nearest to them, and it’s where their families, relatives and friends are located. They also like Florida’s cultural diversity and history.
Europeans, meanwhile, like what they see as investment opportunities in Florida. They are also attracted by Florida’s warmer climate. NAR says that around 47% of properties purchased by British buyers are located in Florida, California and Rhode Island.
The top 5 countries of buyers of U.S. residential properties, which are mostly single-family homes, are Canada, China, India, Mexico and United Kingdom. China includes buyers from Taiwan and Hong Kong. These 5 countries accounted for 53% of all home sales to international buyers over the one year
period ended March 2013.
Over said period, international home buyers shelled out a total of $68.2 billion to purchase U.S. homes. This amount accounted for around 6.3% of the estimated $1 trillion sales of existing homes in the U.S. over the same 12-month period.
The average sale price for homes sold to international buyers over this period was $354,193, higher by 55 percent than the average sale price of existing homes sold to domestic buyers, which was $228,383. It was more than double than the domestic average sale price. Additionally, almost two-thirds of global buyers paid in cash, as buyers from other countries face challenges in mortgage financing in the U.S. due to lack of credit history and lack of Social Security number in the U.S.