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Patricia Tan – Perspectives – International REAL Estate

Trends To Watch For In 2017

By Patricia Tan

As I write this, the end of 2016 has passed, and it is about time to get out our crystal ball and see what the New Year will hold. My business partner, Carla Rayman, and I had a head start on this. We were invited to present at the National Association of REALTORS annual convention in November and talk about the shifts we may see in global real estate in 2017. We started our research in October and are happy to share some of that with you here.

Younger Decision Makers
We will see younger decision makers in our real estate transactions. For the first time in decades we are seeing more first time home buyers in our local and national markets, and younger retirees buying second homes here. We are also going to see continued wealth transfer to younger generations. It’s estimated that $3.9 Trillion will pass to the next generation by 2026, and a portion of this will be used to purchase resort real estate both at home and abroad.

Women in Power
We just have to look around the world and see how things have changed. We now have many women leading their countries. As wealth is passed from one generation to the next, or children become involved in the parents’ business and finances, parents are not discriminating between sons and their well educated daughters. Even in some traditionally male dominated cultures, we are seeing women become key decision makers.

Buyers for Luxury Homes
The Wealth Report, published annually by Knight Frank, tells us that a big proportion of High Net Worth Individuals plan to buy homes in the next 2 years, and there will certainly be more buyers than sellers as these wealthy individuals purchase multiple homes around the world.

Currency Opportunities
Opportunity-driven investment will certainly follow movements in the currency market. A few years ago when the Canadian Dollar was at parity with the U.S. Dollar we saw a huge influx of Canadian investment here and around the world – that has certainly slowed in recent years as things have changed in relation to the strength of the Canadian Dollar. BREXIT’s impact on the strength of Sterling and the Euro will slow down outgoing investments from Europe, but will encourage many Europeans to cash-in their overseas investments and repatriate funds to their home countries.

Evolving Tourism
There is certainly a link between tourists visiting an area or country, and then becoming investors or home owners there. A couple years ago, eco-tourism was driving Americans to discover Costa Rica for instance, and then the tourists started to buy homes there. We may see tourist activity based around Marijuana this year. Uruguay was the first country to legalize marijuana in 2013, Canada is looking to legalize in 2017. Jamaica, with its Bob Marley culture has started to discuss turning their long history of Rasta culture into a positive thing, through legalization of marijuana to encourage tourism and economic development.

Shifting Immigration Patterns
With no end in sight to the global immigration crisis, and a newly elected government here at home, changes in immigration patterns are inevitable. High unemployment in Southern Europe will continue to drive young educated people to move for better lives elsewhere. Affluent Chinese citizens will continue to use “investment visas” offered by many countries around the world, to provide a safe, overseas home and place for further education for their families. Australia has been a key target for the Chinese, but the higher price of entry there, means fewer can achieve Australian residency. This may drive investors to look at other destinations more seriously. Portugal’s Golden Resident program which has a relatively low entry level ($500,000) will continue to be popular with the Chinese as long as the EU and the Schengen Agreement’s freedom of movement survives.

So once again we are in a changing landscape for our local, national and international real estate market drivers. Only time will tell.

Patricia Tan was born in England, and her career in international sales and marketing led her to live and work in many countries around the world before moving to Sarasota in 1997. Patricia is a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), Graduate Realtor Institute (GRI), and Transnational Referral Certified (TRC). She is involved in global activities of the Sarasota, Florida and National Association of Realtors, and currently serves as NAR President’s Liaison to U.K. Her real estate business operates from Coldwell Banker on St Armands Key, where her focus is to bring international buyers to the local market. She regularly makes marketing trips to Canada, Asia and Europe, to promote Florida’s Gulf Coast and the Sarasota area in particular. Patricia may be reached at 941-504-9232 or Pat@PatriciaTan.com.