Home buyers outside of the U.S. have taken a big interest in the Southern California real estate market. According to the California Association of Realtors “2013 International Clients Survey.” said that of international buyers last year in California, 35 percent were in L.A. County, 22 percent were in Orange County, 20 percent were in San Diego County and 14 percent were in Riverside County, the association said.
Eighty-five percent of the buyers shopping for homes in the state last year said that they only considered purchasing a home in the U.S. because its stable government and financial system would guarantee their home investment.
Fifteen percent considered investing in other countries, including Canada, Germany, Mexico, China, Singapore, Sweden, and France.
The Orange County real estate market has been on the rise in recent years mainly for its proximity to the beaches of Southern California as well as Los Angeles. Twenty percent of the buyers said they chose the U.S. for its desirable location and climate. The largest growth economists and real estate developers have seen in recent years has been in the coastal townhome and condo market; namely Huntington Beach.
The survey also found that 69 percent of international buyers paid all cash for their properties, compared to 27 percent of traditional buyers who paid all cash and 32 percent who bought their home to live in.
The international set has an eye for style, too. Forty-four percent of the international home buyers purchased homes with designer kitchens, 26 percent purchased homes with a wine cellar, and 9 percent purchased homes with a sauna. Other home amenities that international buyers wanted include a private beach, putting green, heated floors and outdoor kitchens.
The survey was conducted via email to a random sample of Realtors across the state.
It did not ask for the total number of homes sold to international buyers last year.
A separate survey last week from the National Association of Realtors showed that vacation home sales rose strongly last year while investment purchases fell below the elevated levels seen in the previous two years.
Not a surprise, really, because it follows the trend in quarterly reports from market trackers like DataQuick.
The association’s “2014 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey,” covering existing- and new-home transactions in 2013, shows vacation-home sales jumped 29.7 percent to an estimated 717,000 from 553,000 in 2012.
Meanwhile, investment-home sales fell 8.5 percent to an estimated 1.10 million in 2013 from 1.21 million in 2012.
“International buyers like the Southern California real estate market”. San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Web. 03 April. 2014
