SARASOTA, FLORIDA, September 19th, 2016 – Chinese home buyers in recent years have significantly grown their presence in the Suncoast where foreign home buying was erstwhile largely dominated by Canadians and Europeans.
According to the 2015 Profile of International Home Buyers compiled by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR®), 27 percent of Chinese buyers in all of Florida chose properties in the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice area. This slice stood second only to the 42 percent share in Chinese buying accounted for by Miami and Miami Beach communities.
Tracking residential real estate activity of foreign buyers in April 2015‒March 2016, NAR® estimated that Chinese home purchases across the U.S. totaled $27.3 billion for the period. Although this most recent estimate declined from the $28.6 billion of the prior one-year span, Chinese home buying remained the top amongst international buyers of U.S. homes, with a 26.7 percent slice of the $102.6 billion total foreigners’ home buying. Canadian buying was a distant second, with $8.9 billion or 8.7 percent of the total.
Florida continued to be the leading destination of foreign buyers of U.S. homes. The Sunshine State, per the NAR® report accounted for 22 percent of all international residential real estate activity.
Recognizing China as one of the fastest growing segments of foreign buyers in South Florida, the Miami Association of Realtors® has been taking purposive efforts to woo Chinese clients during the past few years. One of its recent initiatives was the association’s participation in the LPS Shanghai 2015 last December, which gathered 5,000 buyers from China including affluent real estate investors. As a result of these networking efforts, more Florida business tours by foreign brokers from China are now being facilitated. Ardent negotiations are likewise being pursued to have direct flights connecting Miami with China.
The Realtors® Association of Manatee and Sarasota, for its part, is banking on its Global Business Council to avail of opportunities not only from Chinese buyers but also from other potential foreign clients. In recognition of the council’s avowed commitment to build its members’ awareness and capability to tap multicultural and global business opportunities, NAR® has recently named it a Platinum council, one of only 17 given this stellar recognition by the national realtors’ body.
A local half-hour show launched just last year, Home & Castle TV, is also helping promote the Suncoast region to international home buyers, particularly those in Canada. The show is currently broadcast in select Florida areas and has positioned itself for future syndication. Viewers in southeast and greater Miami can view the show through The Beach Channel Miami, and is available as well through The Real Estate Channel – Canada.
Focused on luxury real estate, this hyperlocal program also delves on lifestyle and high profile celebrities/residents. Its past episodes accessible in YouTube, Home & Castle TV recently featured some choice high-end Sarasota homes for sale including some of the million-dollar listings at the Concession, Lido Shores, and the Oaks Bayside.
Other recent program editions highlighted leading Suncoast attractions, such as Marina Jack located just west of downtown Sarasota, which is popular for its deep harbor docking, waterfront dining, and cruises. Several new luxury condo developments are notably just walking distance from this Sarasota landmark, all ripe for the picking by both local and international home buyers including wealthy Chinese buyers.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA, October 7, 2019 – Property values of communities in the Sarasota-Manatee region now face lesser threat from neighborhood eyesores brought about by abandoned, foreclosed homes. Known in the real estate trade as zombie foreclosures, these properties have shrunk significantly in the region. According to an August report of ATTOM Data Solutions, abandoned […] more>>