Austin metro posts $800M in home sales to foreign buyers—with signs pointing to continued growth

International customers spent $800 million on local real estate between April 2019 and March 2020, according to a new report from the Austin Board of Realtors.

Foreign buyers—which include those living abroad, immigrants and first-generation Americans—accounted for 5% of all residential sales in the Austin metro during that period.

(Austin Board of Realtors Global)

ABoR attributed this market share to the areas's appeal as a global destination for businesses and individuals alike, noting that one in five Austinites is foreign born.

"The Central Texas region has become a magnet for homebuyers and real estate investors from around the globe," President Romeo Manzanilla said in a statement.

A plurality of foreign buyers—38%—came from Latin America, with 29% from Asia and Oceania and 12% from Europe.

(Austin Board of Realtors Global)

Certain trends emerged over the course of the survey period, such as the fact that all Indian buyers purchased detached single-family homes, 75% of Chinese buyers purchased in a suburban area and 83% of Australian buyers paid entirely in cash.

The median home price among foreign buyers was $381,030, which is $54,530 more than the metro's median home price during the survey period.

ABoR members reported an increase in international business. Of the survey respondents who have been in business for at least one year, 30% have seen an increase in international business compared to 20% nationally. Of those who have been in business for five years or more, 41% have, compared to 32% nationally.

This trend also mirrors itself.

More than half of respondents reported that they had U.S. clients seeking to purchase property abroad, primarily in Latin American countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica and Columbia.

The report also includes information on foreign clients who sold local property during the survey period. The top four countries of origin for foreign sellers were Mexico, India, China and Russia.

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