United States is one of the largest countries with plenty of available land. Domestic demand for purchasing real estate seems to be falling behind those of foreign investors. Despite the lure of very small down payments it doesn’t seem to be persuading enough. As reported by the Google Consumer survey shows 62% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings account.
In stark contrast, however large amounts of land are being purchased by foreign entities.
Foreigners are getting serious about buying american properties reports National Association of Realtors. In first fiscal quarter of 2017 there was a 49% increase over the previous year and the hit records numbers. Foreign buyers and immigrants spent an estimated $153 billion on American properties. The ratio is basically 50:50 between foreigners and immigrants.
Canadian real estate has soared and cities like Toronto and Vancouver have seen major price gains shifting Canadian investors interests to america. Canadian real estate purchases were a major factor in the surge.
Toronto real estate agent Elli Davis said buyers are cashing out and using the money to buy smaller homes in Canada and second houses to vacation the the United States. “The Canadians love your weather,” Davis said. “And we have more money because of our real estate market here – that’s really the answer”
Top Buyers of American Real Estate per the Realtor Association.
- Wealthy foreign investors
- UBS AgriVest Buys 9,800 Acres
- Gladstone Land Corp
- Chinese Investors
- Canadians
- Other countries
Popular States
Concentration of purchases seem to focus on three states: California, Florida and Texas.
Florida attracts the Canadians.
California buyers are from China.
Texas was the preferred state for Mexican buyers
2018 has experienced a decrease from China buyers but other countries have come in to fill the gap. In the year between April 2016 and March 2017, Chinese buyers spend $31.7 billion on residential real estate in America. However, since mainland China tightened restrictions in 2017 on how much they get take out of the country, that figure has dropped.
Many countries recognize the security and stability of the U.S. market and some of those countries include but the most active seem to be the Asian buyers.
While encouraging foreign buyers to invest in america may temporarily boost the american economy but by allowing foreign buyers to purchase american real estate in large numbers the affordability for American middle-class citizens is rapidly making the american dream harder to reach especially for the younger generations.
Foreign investors are finding value outside of residential properties. Investors are buying small lots, commercial lots and farmland and driving land prices up and up. As a land investor this is not such a bad thing we all want our properties to go up in value.
Smart Land investors that purchase this land fast enough will find that they’ve made a smart investment.
