International homebuyers are flocking to Texas and buying up Lone Star State homes in droves, a new report from the Texas Association of Realtors shows.
In fact, the report shows that over the last year, the amount of money spent by foreign buyers on homes in Texas is nearly double what it was in the previous year.
The new report from the Texas Association of Realtors, called the Texas International Homebuyers Report, covers the time period from April 2016 through March 2017.
During that time, foreign buyers accounted for $18.66 billion in home sales in Texas, up sharply from $10.2 billion during the report’s previous period, from April 2015 through March 2016. That’s an increase of nearly 83%.
Overall, the nationwide dollar amount in home sales from foreign buyers was also up significantly, but not by as much as Texas.
Nationwide, foreign buyers accounted for $153 billion in home sales in the time period from April 2016 through March 2017, an increase of 49% from the previous time period.
Additionally, the report showed that there were 34,135 international home sales in Texas between April 2016 and March 2017, a 59% increase from the same time frame last year.
Nationally, the number of homes purchased by international buyers jumped to 284,455 sales, an increase of 32%.
According to the report, Texas tied with California for second in the nation behind Florida in international home sales, with Texas’ share of international home sales making up 12% of the 284,455 international home sales nationwide.
Breaking down where the international buyers are coming from, the report showed that 40% of the international buyers came from Latin America, which includes Mexico.
In fact, Texas had the highest volume of homebuyers from Mexico of any state from April 2016 to March 2017, with 43% of Mexican homebuyers who purchased a home in the U.S. buying in Texas.
Additionally, buyers from what the report calls the “Asia/Oceania” region, which includes China and India, made up 39% of the international home buying activity in Texas.
As for the reasons behind the increase in international home buying in 2016-2017, Vicki Fullerton, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, said that it’s not one thing driving foreign buyers to Texas. Rather, it’s a combination of factors.
“This surge in international home sales activity underscores the growing reputation Texas has as a global destination for owning a home or investment property,” Fullerton said. “The state's low unemployment, diverse industry base and world class higher education institutions are just some of the reasons why international residents seek to attend college, raise a family or do business in Texas.”
