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Weak U.S. dollar, low prices luring home buyers from abroad

By Paul Owers | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

April 12, 2008

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Foreign investors are hunting for housing deals in the United States, lured here by falling prices and a dollar in decline.

Florida is a top target for international buyers. Fifteen percent of all Florida home sales now involve foreign purchasers, and 65 percent of agents in the Sunshine State said they had overseas clients, according to a 2007 survey by the National Association of Realtors.

The Realtors group is touting U.S. investment during a weeklong trade show in Madrid that ends today.

"The U.S. is still an attractive place to own real estate. There's prestige involved," said Iverson Moore, spokesman for the group. "Home prices are relatively low compared to other countries, and the investors perceive there is value there."

Homes in the United States typically cost half of similar-size properties in major European markets, Moore said Friday. In addition, the dollar's purchasing power has dropped by about 40 percent compared with the euro during the past few years.

Buyers from Europe, North and South America, Africa and the Middle East are interested in American properties for their children and second homes for themselves, agents say.

"In a lot of the Florida markets, there is an abundance of supply and interest rates are low," Moore said. "People are motivated."

Foreign buyers' interest in Palm Beach and Broward counties is not new. But the combination of the falling dollar and a soft housing market has not occurred in the past two decades, said Kerman Haynes, founder of Inter-Connect Worldwide, an Atlanta-based real estate firm that works with overseas buyers.

"They see this as a real opportunity to own a piece of America at a discount," said Haynes, who is attending the Madrid trade show. "Down the road ... their ultimate goal is naturalization."

John Mike, chairman of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches, is visiting the United Kingdom this month, hoping to generate sales in South Florida. The group's past chairman, Bob Goldstein, said international buyers could ultimately play a role in the housing market's recovery.

"The foreign influence in real estate in Florida is going to make my year," Goldstein said. "I couldn't say that last year."

Paul Owers can be reached at powers@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6529.