Where have all the Irish investors gone?
Posted Mon Aug 18 21:18:00 UTC 2008
…And despite my surname, I can be self-depricating, as my sainted mother was a Connelly. NAR recently posted a report stating that U.S. sales to international property buyers seem to have subsided. From April 06-07, 32% of real estate professionals worked with foreign buyers, and the 07-08 numbers were only at 26%.
It’s a joke amongst Chicago luxury real estate professionals that an elusive group of Irish investors have bought up the vast majority of foreign-owned property. This “elusive group” is now rumored to include a cadre of Russian investors. But, statistics speak louder than speculative missives. Buyers from Canada and our other NAFTA partner, Mexico, had their share of buyers increase from 23.4% of foreign buyers to 32.7% in ‘08. A not insignificant jump!! However, it does seem that more of those buyers are buying on the sunny shores of California (9%) or Florida (25%).
How does this affect Chicago’s luxury real estate market? Well, Chicago’s geographic location – as well as its relative bargain prices (compared to NYC) – certainly have helped. And, over 42% of the buyers paid cash, which indicates they are somewhat immune to the myriad mortgage fiascos that have plagued our shores. 
It seems our weak dollar was a prime attraction. As anyone following the pound or euro will note, however, that ride is leveling out a bit…So the big run may be over, but that may in fact be an early warning sign that the U.S. economy is about ready to turn the boat around!
Posted By: 
John D’Ambrogio
