Austin Business Journal reports, "Austin's international homebuyer market is still down in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
That’s according to the Austin Board of Realtors' 2022 Central Texas International Homebuyers Report. From April 2021 to March 2022, international buyers purchased $613 million worth of residential properties in Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties — representing 3% of total home sales.
That number was relatively flat compared with the $634 million figure from the 2021 report, but is a steep drop from the $800 million reported in 2020, the first year the report was compiled.
Though international buyers contributed less to the housing market, Realtors say Covid-19 is less of a concern to clients now.
According to the report, 76% of survey respondents reported that Covid-19 had "no impact" on transactions for non-resident buyers in 2022, compared to just 22% in 2021. Additionally, the percentage of clients that could not travel because of a travel ban decreased from 37% in 2021 to 14% in 2022.
Moreover, 41% of respondents to the survey reported an increase in international transactions in 2022.
"Our region has worked hard to establish itself as a global destination for job creation and capital investment for the last 20 years," stated Cord Shiflet, 2022 ABOR president. "That only works if people want to live here. Our quality of life and economic opportunity make us one of the most desirable places to live in the world, and we’re seeing that reflected in a consistent level of international homebuyers purchasing property here. This is another sign of Austin’s evolution from a college town into a global economic and lifestyle destination."
The median purchase price of a home for a non-resident buyer was $513,900, which was higher than the national average of $366,100 for foreign buyers, according to the ABOR data. Among foreign buyers, 63% used a U.S. mortgage.
According to the report, these international homebuyers included non-U.S. citizens who primarily reside outside the U.S.; non-U.S. citizens who reside in the U.S. on non-immigrant visas or recent immigrants who have been in the U.S. for less than two years at the time of the transaction; and non-U.S. citizens who have been in the U.S. for more than two years at the time of the transaction.
India ranked No. 1 as the country for international buyers in Central Texas, as 21% buyers hailed from the South Asian nation. Next up was Mexico, with 10% of buyers, then China and Taiwan with 6% of buyers. Canada rounded out the top four with 4%."
Source: Austin Business Journal
Written by: Cody Baird
Published: November 3, 2022
Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on
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