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Health & Fitness

California Attracts 11% of International Home Sales

International sales rose from $66.4B in the 12 months ending March 2011 to $82.5B for the 12 months ending March 2012 — a 24 percent jump. California attracted 11 percent of these sales.

The National Association of Realtors recently released their annual “Profile of International Home Buying Activity.”  Low housing prices and a weak dollar made buying real estate in the U.S. increasingly attractive for buyers abroad.

The survey found that international sales rose from $66.4B in the 12 months ending March 2011 to $82.5B for the 12 months ending March 2012 — a 24 percent jump.  International purchases made up 8.8 percent of the total volume of U.S. home sales.

International sales were evenly split between buyers who maintained permanent residence outside the country, and recent immigrants and temporary visa holders.

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Among the reasons for buying a home in the U.S., the report names investment, portfolio diversification, vacation destination and residence.  Some foreign buyers were interested in U.S. properties as homes for their children studying in the country.

Overall, 39 percent of international buyers stated that they are going to use the property as their primary residence and 23 percent intended to use it as a vacation home.

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In terms of the country of origin, 24 percent of the foreign buyers in 2012 came from Canada, an increase from 23 percent in 2011.  Next largest group came from China at 11 percent, followed by Mexico at 8 percent.  India and the U.K. were tied for fourth and fifth place at 6 percent each.

Geographically Florida led the nation in the number of international transactions, with 26 percent.  California was in second place at 11 percent.  Arizona and Texas tied for the third and fourth place at 4 percent each.

European buyers favored East coast states while Asian buyers bought predominantly on the West Coast.  Proximity to the country of origin and convenience of air travel seem to be the decisive factors behind this pattern.

More than 63 percent of these international purchases were done with full cash.  The percentage of cash purchases by international buyers has been steadily increasing in the last five years.

Only 28 percent of sales in 2007 were completed with all cash.  Most of the foreign buyers lack a U.S. credit history and social security numbers, making it hard to finance their purchases.

This post originally appeared on PaloAltoCal.com

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