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Foreigners Continue To Buy Homes In America;
Canada, U.K., Mexico Top List Of Foreign Buyers

Bill Cunniff, The Chicago Sun-Times

International real estate purchases in the U.S. continue to be a significant share of business for many Realtors, according to a new survey.

The National Association of Realtors estimates that between 150,000 and 190,000 homes were sold to foreign nationals from May 2007 to May 2008. Recent foreign buyers purchased properties in every state and the District of Columbia. The most popular states where international buyers purchased homes are Florida, California and Texas. Arizona, New York, Washington and Nevada were also popular.

"The U.S. housing industry truly has no boundaries," said NAR President Richard F. Gaylord.

The typical international buyer purchased a single-family vacation home costing $297,400. Four in 10 paid for their U.S. property with cash, compared with 7 percent for all domestic buyers. The typical international owner stayed at his or her U.S. property for 2.6 months during the year, according to the NAR findings.

Foreign exchange rates have helped make U.S. homes more affordable for international buyers. The euro, for example, has strengthened 24 percent versus the U.S. dollar over the past two years. Home prices also are now more affordable in places such as Florida and Arizona, contributing to those states' popularity among foreign buyers.

International buyers tend to purchase more expensive properties, which cost an average of 36 percent more than the typical domestic buyer's home purchase. In fact, more than 14 percent of properties purchased by international buyers were in excess of $750,000. Foreign buyers also show a greater preference for condos and town houses compared to domestic buyers.

People from North America, Europe and Asia accounted for more than 85 percent of recent foreign home buying transactions. The top six countries of origin for foreign home buyers were Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, China, India and Germany. This year, Canada replaced Mexico as the country with the largest share of foreign buyers in the U.S. The percentage of Canadian buyers doubled from last year, from 11 percent to 23.5 percent.

Of the Realtors surveyed, 26 percent served international clients in the past year, and about half of those clients ended up purchasing a home. The primary reasons some clients did not eventually buy a house were home price concerns, immigration laws and property taxes.

"If visa regulations that favor longer stays for overseas buyers such as retirees from abroad were in place, these sales levels would be even higher," said Tony Macaluso, chair of NAR's international business group.

The survey was based on responses from about 4,000 Realtors who serve foreign buyers.

SOLAR, WIND ENERGY SEMINAR

The basics of harnessing solar and wind energy for homes (and businesses) will be discussed at a daylong renewable energy workshop on Saturday on the Northwest Side.

The session will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Wright College, 4300 N. Narragansett, room S247.

The workshop will be conducted by the Illinois Solar Energy Association. The topics will include how these systems work and how well they work in Illinois. Solar energy will be discussed in the morning, and wind energy will be covered in the afternoon. The registration fee is $49 per session, or $89 for both sessions.

Energy workshops also are planned for Sept. 13 at Governors State University in University Park, and Oct. 18 at the Chicago Center for Green Technology (445 N. Sacramento).

The Illinois Solar Energy Association also is planning its annual Solar Home Tour for Oct. 4.

Renewable Energy Workshop. To register, go to www.illinoissolar.org and click on Workshops, or call (312) 376-8245.

PETS AND VETS

Seventy percent of pet owners feel their vet is fair with charges, according to a new poll.

Also from Angie's List survey:

- 9 percent paid more than $2,000 on their pet's medical care last year.
- 43 percent take their pet to the vet twice a year.
- 14 percent buy only gourmet food and products for their pet.
- 10 percent have felt pressured to continue treatment of a sick pet.

An article on the Angie's List Web site also tracks the history of pets. By studying animal DNA and skeletons, archaeologists have determined that humans domesticated dogs 17,000 years ago and cats a few thousand years later. Ancient Egyptians worshiped cats as gods, making it a capital crime to kill one.

"They had dog gravestones in ancient Rome, and their descriptions talked about how handsome and loyal they were, a lot like pet cemeteries today," said Katherine Grier, author of Pets in America.