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International Buyers By The Numbers

By Patricia Tan

Regular readers will be familiar with my fascination with numbers and statistics.  As a real estate professional working to bring overseas investors, immigrants, retirees and part time residents to Florida I am always interested in statistics about international buyers in our market.  I had occasion recently to revisit a report published by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) earlier this year, and thought I would share some of their findings here.

The Profile of International Home Buyers in Florida is the result of research carried out by the NAR on behalf of Florida Realtors®, and it makes interesting reading.
 
We are all, sometimes painfully, aware of the downturn in the Florida real estate market over the last five years.  But have we turned the corner, and what role are international buyers playing in the recovery of our market?  The report from NAR makes interesting reading.

Most Florida REALTORS® (79%) reported that their business with international buyers had either stayed the same or increased in the last 12 months.  This is a good sign, overall, but most REALTORS® noted changes in the profile of the overseas buyer.  We saw more Canadian buyers for instance, fewer Latin American buyers and the level of European buyers stayed about the same.  It is no surprise that Canada’s reputation for fiscal responsibility and their commodity-based economy has allowed its citizens to continue to buy winter homes in Florida.  What is more surprising is that European buyers have been somewhat immune to the very serious economic situation in Western Europe.

What kind of homes are these foreign buyers purchasing?  Realtors® reported that 11% of overseas buyers bought new homes, slightly less than the national average of 18%.  Just over half of all foreign buyers (51%) bought single family homes, significantly less than the national average of 78%.  It is not surprising that more foreign owners prefer the maintenance free aspects of condo and town home ownership.  The report also showed that 30% of all foreign buyers purchased in a resort area, compared to 1% nationally.  Again, this is not surprising when one considers Florida’s life style options.

What might be surprising is that a full 81% of overseas buyers in Florida buy their homes with cash, compared to a national average of only 19%.  In many respects this makes them a dream buyer for the Florida home seller – no nail-biting moments wondering if a buyer will be successful in obtaining a mortgage in today’s tight financial markets..

Florida, as we all know, is a big state!  Where are these international buyers headed for?  Well, I’m pleased to say the west coast of Florida seems to rank very highly with overseas buyers in general, and many of them are coming to our own desirable stretch of the Gulf Coast. We rank third overall, and we are the number one choice for Canadian buyersWhat do all these statistics mean to us?  Well, for sure the Gulf Coast of Florida is “alive and kicking” as far as foreign buyers are concerned, and the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice area rates highly with buyers from Canada and Western Europe in particular.  When we review the 2011 numbers, I believe we will see an increase in foreign investment in our area, and long may it last!

Statistics courtesy of the National Association of REALTORS®.

 
Patricia Tan was born in England, and moved to Sarasota in 1997. Her career afforded her the opportunity to live and work in many countries around the world, including Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. She spent five years as a Director of an American real estate franchise in England in 1990s. Patricia has served as Chairperson of Sarasota Association of REALTORS®’ International Council, and serves on Florida Association of REALTORS®’ International Operations Committee. She currently works as International Sales Director for Prudential Palms Realty. Patricia may be reached at 941-487-5107 or patriciatan@prudentialpalmsrealty.com.

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