Report: International buyers made up 3% of all home sales in Austin area last year

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A new report from the Austin Board of Realtors shows that 3% of all home sales through a year's period in the Austin-Round Rock area involved international buyers.

Those sales add up to $613 million from April 2021 to March 2022.

The median home price for foreign buyers came in just under $513,900, which is above the area's overall median of $500,000. The national median sales price for foreign buyers is $366,100.

Homebuyers from India made up the largest share of international homebuyers in Central Texas (21%). Buyers from Mexico were the second-largest international group (10%), with China (6%) and Canada (4%) in third and fourth places.

“Our region has worked hard to establish itself as a global destination for job creation and capital investment for the last 20 years,” Cord Shiflet, 2022 ABoR president, said. “That only works if people want to live here. Our quality of life and economic opportunity make us one of the most desirable places to live in the world, and we’re seeing that reflected in a consistent level of international homebuyers purchasing property here. This is another sign of Austin’s evolution from a college town into a global economic and lifestyle destination.”

This period was the third consecutive year that ABoR partnered with the National Association of REALTORS to conduct a survey of Central Texas REALTORS as part of its nationwide Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate.

3% of international buyers purchased a Central Texas home to use as a vacation home or rental property, compared to 59% for a new primary residence. The report also found that 63% of foreign buyers in Central Texas utilized a U.S. mortgage to finance the property compared to 57% in 2020 and 54% in 2021. 

“As COVID-19 travel restrictions have been lifted, REALTORS are seeing international homebuying and selling activity begin to return to pre-pandemic levels,” Jefre Outlaw, 2022 ABoR global advisory group chair, said. “The dream of purchasing an international property or relocating to a new global destination is now more accessible, which may be why the data shows a spike in the number of international buyers who are relocating to Central Texas with their purchase.”

To download the full 2022 Central Texas International Homebuyers Report or to stay connected with international real estate news through the ABoR Global Business Alliance, visit www.ABoR.com/Global.