AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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 Association of 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 Association of 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 seven percent 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 percent more likely to own a home than their native counterparts. More than 75 percent of naturalized U.S. citizens in Texas are homeowners compared to only 63.5 percent 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 percent 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 Association of 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 Association of Realtors in San Antonio to discuss international real estate opportunities and trends at the Texas Realtors Conference Sept. 5-8, 2014. In 2012, the Texas Association of Realtors and AMPI signed a historic cross-border partnership agreement at the conference to build cooperation and collaboration in real estate throughout the region.
About the 2014 Texas International Homebuyers Report
The 2014 Texas International Homebuyers Report is based on survey data from the 2014 Profile of International Home Buying Activity and the 2013 Business Data for Engaging in International Real Estate Transactions in Texas studies by the National Association of Realtors, the 2008-2012 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau and the 2012 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics by the U.S. Office of Immigration Statistics. The Texas Association of Realtors distributes insights about the Texas housing market each month, including quarterly market statistics, trends among homebuyers and sellers, luxury home sales, condominium sales, and more. To view these reports, visit TexasRealEstate.com.
About the Texas Association of Realtors
With 90,000 members, the Texas Association of Realtors is a professional membership organization that represents all aspects of real estate in Texas. We advocate on behalf of Texas Realtors and private-property owners to keep homeownership affordable, protect private-property rights, and promote public policies that benefit homeowners. Visit TexasRealEstate.com to learn more.