Who are your international home buyers?

NAR released in May its 2011 Profile of International Home Buying Activity. The new data indicate strong gains for REALTORS® seeking to do business with international and immigrant buyers. Highlights of the report include:

• $82 billion in U.S. real estate was sold to immigrant and international buyers between March 2010 and March 2011, a nearly 25% increase over the previous year.
• The median U.S. home price paid by global buyers was $315,000, or $100,000 above the national average for existing homes.
• 62% of global buyers used cash to cover their full purchase price, an increase of 7% over the previous year.