Global Real Estate – Are You Ready?

I live in Miami, a very international city. Our real estate is being bought by South Americans, Europeans and, coming soon, the Chinese. It's exciting to watch what is happening here and how many brokerages and developers investigating better ways to reach these international buyers.

The same can be said for many other markets around the U.S. There are obvious ones such as Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. However, if you think global real estate is limited to these gateway cities, you are mistaken.

Some examples of global real estate trends in other national markets:

• With the concentration of higher learning institutions and technology companies in the Boston area there are more and more Indians, Chinese, and other foreign nationals buying real estate;
• Come to Broward County, Florida (north of Miami) this time of year and you will notice a preponderance of Canadian license plates because so many have bought winter homes there;
• Greenville, SC was a sleepy little Southern town until BMW came to town about 20 years ago. Walk around downtown today and you will hear lots of German being spoken as many executives of BMW, and their supplier companies, have relocated; and,
• Las Vegas is a magnet for foreigners who love the gambling and shows. You know what else they love, buying property there!