The majority of foreign buyers who purchased residential property in the U.S. between April 2015 and March 2016 intend on using their new property as a primary residence, according to the National Association of Realtors 2016 Profile of International Activity in U.S. Residential Real Estate. In fact, 46 percent of foreign buyers in this time frame say they plan on using their property as a primary residence. The next closest intended use was as a residential investment, with 18 percent.
Use as a vacation property came next, at 14 percent and use as a vacation home and residential investment was fourth with 10 percent. Additionally, resident foreign buyers were more likely to buy the property as a primary residence, but non-resident buyers were more likely to purchase the property as a vacation home, residential rental unit, or both, the Economists’ Outlook Blog reports.
While the majority of Chinese buyers purchased residential property to use as a primary residence, they were also more likely than buyers from other countries to purchase the property as a residence for a child studying at a U.S. university, at 13 percent (the overall average is only 4 percent).
To see the complete breakdown of how foreign buyers intend to use their properties, click the link below.
