September 02, 2014 — Austin
Texas home sales by international homebuyers contributed $11.06 billion to the Texas economy between March 2013 and March 2014 and rose to their highest level in five years, according to the 2014 Texas International Homebuyers Report released today by the Texas REALTORS®.
“The Texas housing market is not only strong in sales volume, but in its diversity. The demand for Texas homes stretches around the world,” said Dan Hatfield, chairman of the Texas REALTORS®. “International homebuyers increasingly view Texas homes as a good investment, and as our economy has grown, so has the number of international homebuyers in our state.”
International homebuyers accounted for 7% of total U.S. home sales between March 2013 and March 2014, totaling $92.2 billion in sales volume. Twelve percent, or $11.06 billion, of this figure originated from Texas, ranking the Lone Star State the third-largest state in the U.S. for international home sales.
According to the report, naturalized U.S. citizens in Texas are almost 12% more likely to own a home than their native counterparts. More than 75% of naturalized U.S. citizens in Texas are homeowners compared to only 63.5% of native citizens in Texas. This trend does not apply nationally, where homeownership rates among naturalized and native U.S. citizens are virtually equal.
More than half of all international homebuyers in Texas originate from Latin America or the Caribbean. Many of these homebuyers are likely from Mexico, as more than 65% of the U.S. homes purchased by Mexican homebuyers were in Texas.
Texas continues to be a hub for immigration to the United States. The Lone Star State is home to the third-largest immigrant population size and ranks seventh in the nation for percentage of foreign-born residents among the statewide population. In addition, six of the top 50 metro areas for immigration in the U.S. are in Texas.
Chairman Hatfield concluded, “As international home sales continue to grow in Texas, it’s important for Texas REALTORS® to work closely with members of international real estate associations to ensure that the needs of this growing segment of homebuyers are met. The Texas REALTORS® is grateful for its growing partnerships with AMPI in Mexico and other real estate associations around the globe.”
This report is released just a few days before leadership from AMPI, Mexico’s national real estate association, will join the Texas REALTORS® in San Antonio to discuss international real estate opportunities and trends at the Texas REALTORS® Conference, Sept. 5-8. In 2012, the Texas REALTORS® and AMPI signed a historic cross-border partnership agreement at the conference to build cooperation and collaboration in real estate throughout the region.