Foreign Investment In Real Estate: The Luxury Market

In today’s real estate environment, more and more buyers are coming from overseas to purchase primary and/or secondary residences. That phenomenon is being seen in Santa Barbara real estate, and especially when it comes to Montecito homes. In order to accommodate an ever evolving buyer pool, many home builders are now customizing their designs to attract foreign capital. The new influx of Asian wealth is particularly interesting as many builders in certain market segments are installing such features as wok burners, while others are incorporating large balconies and patio areas to attract South American purchasers, or even bidets in order to attract more European buyers.
The amount of estimated  foreign investment in real estate, and specifically in the luxury market, has increased from $53.4 billion in 2010 to $82.5 billion in 2012. Also, foreign buyers tend to spend, on average, twice as much on secondary homes as American buyers. For example, in  Miami last year approximately 60% of home buyers were from overseas. Developers are definitely leaning toward those buyers, with color palette’s and amenities aimed at enticing them to purchase local real estate.