WASHINGTON, July 12 — Indians spent US$5.8 billion in fiscal year 2014 to purchase real estate in the United States, the National Association of Realtors said in its latest report. China tops the list of foreign nationals with US$22 billion in real estate investment for the one year period ended March 2014, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
China is followed by Canada (US$13.8 billion), India and Britain with US$5.8 billion each and Mexico US$4.5 billion. Over the 12 months ended March this year, buyers from India purchased U.S. properties estimated at US$5.8 billion in total value which is about six percent of total international sales.
Buyers from India are located in urbanised areas and states that are home to IT companies such as California, New York and North Carolina. Based on data from the report, Indians were not concentrated in a few key states as were buyers from Canada, Mexico or the United Kingdom. Among the top destination states for buyers from India were California, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Indians mostly purchased single family detached homes, but about six percent bought for commercial or rental use. The properties were mostly in the suburban area and intended for residential and longer-term use, the report said.
Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Dallas and New York were the five markets of greatest interest to potential Indian buyers. The dollar volume of residential purchases by residents and non-residents is estimated at US$92 billion for the 12 months ended March 2014, a 35 percent growth from the previous year. This accounts for approximately seven percent of total existing home sales of about US$1.2 trillion over the same period.
-BERNAMA
