Trulia: Foreign Investment in U.S. Real Estate Dropping Off

• July 25, 2012

by Shilpi Paul

Courtesy of Trulia Trends

Trulia is reporting that foreign interest in U.S. real estate has been dropping of late as housing prices across the country begin to rise. Foreign searches on Trulia have fallen by nearly 10 percent in the last year, as asking prices have risen 0.3 percent since last June.

Trulia economist Jed Kolko found that, perhaps unsurprisingly, interest has dropped the most in cities where prices have recovered best. Kolko drilled down into country-specific data and found out a few interesting tidbits:

• Canadian investors are the most sensitive to price fluctuations, showing extreme interest in markets that were very hard hit, like Phoenix and Miami, until prices rebounded.
• Japanese investors were never drawn to bargains and instead invest in world-class, appealing cities like LA, New York and Honolulu.
• Sunnier cities tended to attract more interest overall.

The takeaway? As the national housing market regains its health, we may see a further decline in foreign investment. From Kolko:

Foreign interest in U.S. homes is more sensitive to price changes than domestic interest is. Local markets buoyed by foreign interest will see demand erode as prices rise. Markets that appeal less to foreigners have gotten less of a lift during the recovery so far but have a better chance of holding on to their price gains. Similarly, elevated demand for U.S. homes by residents of the Eurozone’s at-risk countries has receded. In short, foreign demand can be fickle: easy come, easy go.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/trulia_foreign_investment_in_real_estate_dropping_off/5816