The depressed prices in the real estate market are not only creating a great opportunity for American home buyers, but foreign buyers are flooding the United States real estate market like never before. The reduced value of the dollar has opened up the real estate market to international investors looking for properties to live in while they do business in the States or simply looking to cash in on the amazing value in the housing market. Properties that may have been previously out of reach have become affordable because of the plummeting values of the homes on the market and the available inventory of foreclosure properties to choose from.
Foreign investors may have an edge over some American buyers in the real estate market. In this country the inability of the banking industry to loan money freely has affected the average American’s ability to get a mortgage. The largest shares of foreign investors in American real estate are purchasing properties with cash. Those investors that finance the properties they purchase are doing so with large down payments, many times over 30% of the price of the house, making for easy loan processes and quick closings.
The prices of the homes themselves are a huge draw for foreign investors. Housing prices have dropped so dramatically in the last year or two that it is impossible for investors to turn a blind eye. In many cases investors are looking at the very same homes they had looked at in the previous 12 months and finding the prices tens of thousands, or sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars less than they had been just one year ago.
The opportunities for foreign investors in this housing market are immense. Not only is it more affordable for them to purchase part time residences for business dealings in the US, it is the ideal chance to get themselves a vacation home or invest in rental properties or homes to flip for profit. With the dollar at its weakest, the possibilities for building an inventory of American properties is stronger than ever before, and foreign investors are not wasting a minute of the valuable time. Property in the US is being bought up in greater numbers than in decades by citizens of other countries looking to increase their American real estate portfolio.
As the real estate market begins to stabilize, savvy investors realize that now is the time to pick up properties all across the United States. Where people had previously on the fence about making real estate purchases, the anticipated upswing in the market has helped them to decide to jump in. With the light at the end of the recession tunnel beginning to get brighter, investors understand that prices are at the lowest they are going to be because they are on the rise, and home prices on the rise means building equity quickly. Whether the purpose is to visit, stay or to invest, foreign buyers are flooding the United States real estate market.
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About The Author: Geoffrey Thompson is an owner and founding partner of Colibri Real Estate, LLC. Since 1996 the companies under this banner have offered online real estate licensing and insurance licensing courses as well as online real estate exam prep and insurance exam prep.
