October 09, 2020 — Austin
International home sales added $6.6 billion to the Texas economy from April 2019 to March 2020, according to the Texas International Homebuyers Report released today by Texas REALTORS®.
Texas was third in the nation for homes sold to international buyers, behind Florida and California. Texas accounted for 9% of all homes purchased by international homebuyers in the United States, with 13,860 home sales out of 154,000 nationwide. The U.S. saw a 16% decline in the number of foreign buyer purchases compared to the last reporting period.
“Texas continues to enjoy strong international real estate sales activity. From relocations to commercial or residential, foreign buyers choose Texas because of our resilient economy, job availability, investment opportunities and friendly business climate,” said Cindi Bulla, chairman of Texas REALTORS®. “Despite the slight drop in foreign buyers compared to the previous reporting period, Texas remained a top state for international buyers, particularly those coming from Latin America.”
Forty-two percent of Texas buyers came from Latin America/Caribbean. Texas was also a top destination for international homebuyers from Mexico and Brazil. Of all homebuyers from Mexico, 28% purchased a home in Texas. The next closest state, California, had 14% of the total homebuyers from Mexico. Among buyers from Brazil, 12% chose Texas, tying with Minnesota at second place and behind first-place Florida, with 49%. Texas accounted for 9.5% of new immigration in the United States in 2018.
Six Texas metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) were among the top destinations for immigration in the country. Two Texas MSAs were among the top 10, with Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land as the fifth-most popular U.S. market, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington at number nine.
Texas also ranked third in the nation for home sales from international homeowners, behind Florida and California. Eight percent of homes sales in Texas were from international homeowners.
On the commercial side of international real estate transactions, Texas was the third-most popular destination for buyers who work with REALTORS®, according to the 2020 Commercial Real Estate International Business Trends report from the National Association of REALTORS®.
Bulla concluded, “While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic combined with residential inventory challenges caused a slowdown from the record highs of 2019, we remain confident in a rapid rebound. Our state’s strong economy and attractive investment opportunities will continue to spur interest from international investors for years to come. Texas REALTORS® are always hard at work to make sure of it.”