With an increasingly tough market and some experts calling for a possible ‘Double Dip‘, real estate investors (rehabbers/flippers/wholesalers) are competing with below-market priced distressed properties on the market. And although as per a RealtyTrac report there was a slight decrease in foreclosure activity in May (a whooping 3%), there were still over 300,000 foreclosure filings for the 15th straight month. With more and more REO’s coming to the market, investors continue to struggle in finding potential buyers.
Well, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors, Foreign Investment in U.S. real estate, purchases of residential homes by foreigners (those with residency outside of the US, recently arrived immigrants and temporary visa holders) for the 12 month period ending April 2010 totaled a nice $64B, compared to $36B for the 12 month period ending April 2009. International investors have always been attracted to the U.S. as a real estate investment with our growth-oriented tax laws, a consumer-friendly judiciary, and strong private property rights.
Leading the way for the 3rd consecutive year were Canadians (God bless their hockey-loving hearts) accounting for 23% of those purchases ($14.7B). Mexico (10%) and the United Kingdom (9%) also had their share of foreign investment. And with a depreciating US dollar, it is likely that foreigners will continue to flock to the U.S. for real estate investments. Even though it was not part of my marketing plan, many of my clients are Canadian, most of which are cash buyers and now I will refocus my marketing strategy to include more exposure to foreigners. If you are not actively targeting foreign clients, perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate that. Comments are always welcomed and appreciated.
Related posts:
- Foreign Real Estate Investment: Will It Spread To Your Town?
- Foreigners buying up U.S. property
- 7 Steps to Postcard Marketing Riches for Real Estate Investors!
- The Falling Dollar and Real Estate Investors
- 7 Reasons Why Real Estate Investors Should Use Direct Response Marketing
Article Author: Alex CortezAlex has written 11 articles for us.
Visit Alex's Website: http://mauirealestatesearch.com
Alex is a real estate agent specializing in properties in south Maui. For an up-to-date blog on Maui and Hawaii news, events, and real estate trends, visit his blog at www.mauihomeandcondo.com or search his site at www.mauirealestatesearch.com
Joshua Dorkin
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Yaay Canada! We sure love our hockey…. and real estate.
-Paul
Interesting post. I have always been interested in marketing to foreign investors but where do you start? I sometimes see ads for a property from other states in the Los Angeles section of craigslist and I wonder how effective that really is for them.
But it would be interesting to see a post about marketing to international investors.
Thanks nice post.
Thanks Alex, this is very useful information. I will definitely begin marketing and testing targeted to foreign investors.