Some of us were privileged to hear from Mark Allen, CEO of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, this week. One topic of interest was globalization of real estate investments – loosely translated, Americans buying homes in other countries.
Some of the reasons include relatively low prices, especially for ocean front properties, inexpensive labor that includes maintenance and domestic staff, and competent, affordable health care. Wow – there are a lot of social issues to discuss in that sentence. I have had several first-hand encounters of late with folks selling out here in America and moving to Costa Rica to live the good life on the side of a mountain overlooking the ocean and developers of large complexes in Panama. There is a noteworthy trend here – perhaps the next "big thing" now that so many Americans have already purchased a second home.
What about the quality of the investment, however? Well, John Schroder was quoted in an article for EscapeArtist.com as follows:
“Where as housing prices have gone up roughly 65 percent in the United Stated from the period 1997-2004 according to the Economist Financial Magazine, the figures are far more dramatic in the following countries for the same period: South Africa - 227 percent, Spain - 149 percent, Ireland - 187 percent, Britain - 139 percent, Australia - 112 percent”
Perhaps the lower cost of living is trumped by the higher appreciation rate of the asset itself - a win-win for the investor. If you are interested in learning more about international markets, we have a Certified International Property Specialist in our office with whom you can have that conversation.
Some of the reasons include relatively low prices, especially for ocean front properties, inexpensive labor that includes maintenance and domestic staff, and competent, affordable health care. Wow – there are a lot of social issues to discuss in that sentence. I have had several first-hand encounters of late with folks selling out here in America and moving to Costa Rica to live the good life on the side of a mountain overlooking the ocean and developers of large complexes in Panama. There is a noteworthy trend here – perhaps the next "big thing" now that so many Americans have already purchased a second home.
What about the quality of the investment, however? Well, John Schroder was quoted in an article for EscapeArtist.com as follows:
“Where as housing prices have gone up roughly 65 percent in the United Stated from the period 1997-2004 according to the Economist Financial Magazine, the figures are far more dramatic in the following countries for the same period: South Africa - 227 percent, Spain - 149 percent, Ireland - 187 percent, Britain - 139 percent, Australia - 112 percent”
Perhaps the lower cost of living is trumped by the higher appreciation rate of the asset itself - a win-win for the investor. If you are interested in learning more about international markets, we have a Certified International Property Specialist in our office with whom you can have that conversation.
Are you thinking about off-shore investment in real estate? With over 120,000 sales associates in 67 countries, RE/MAX is the world leader in real estate sales. RE/MAX is international real estate.
Globalization! The world is smaller than you think!
