Home sales in the state of Texas are booming, thanks in large part to a growing demographic – international home buyers.
According to a September 1 press release from the Texas Association of REALTORS®, Texas home sales purchased by international buyers contributed $8.32 billion to the Texas economy between April 2014 and March 2015. This data comes from the TAR’s International Homebuyers Report.
“With more international homebuyers in Texas now originating from China, Europe, and Africa than Latin America and Mexico, Texas truly has a global reputation as a great place to live, work, and raise a family,” said Scott Kesner, chairman of the Texas Association of REALTORS®. “International homebuyers see Texas real estate as a strong investment, whether that be as an investment property, a vacation home, or a primary residence.”
International home buyers accounted for 4% of all U.S. home purchases and 8% of total U.S. home sales dollar volume between April 2014 and March 2015. If you think 4 and 8 percent don’t sound like much, consider this: 4% of all U.S. home purchases equates to 209,000 home sales and 8% of total U.S. home sales dollar volume works out to $104 billion.
Approximately 8%, or 16,720 home sales and $8.32 billion, of this activity occurred in Texas. Despite the figures representing a 4% decrease from the same time last year, this is still incredibly impressive.
Interestingly, for the first time in the Texas International Homebuyers Report history, home buyers from Latin America (including Mexico) were not a clear majority of international home buyers in the Lone Star State. Home buyers from Asia/Oceania (including China) increased dramatically from 18% from April 2013-March 2014 to 31% from April 2014 to March 2015.
Texas home buying among European and African buyers also increased significantly during that same time frame, rising from 9% to 15% and 4% to 8%, respectively. Meanwhile, the TAR press release noted that Texas home sales activity from Canadian buyers decreased slightly from 5% to 4%.
“The increasing diversity of homebuyers in Texas reinforces the importance for buyers to have a trusted advisor on their side to help them navigate the homebuying process,” Kesner added. “Texas REALTORS® with a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation are specifically trained to understand the unique language, qualification, and financing challenges international homebuyers sometimes face and can be instrumental in de-stressing the homebuying process for these families.”
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