Lone Star Living

Home sales to international buyers in Texas surge past $18 billion in one year

Global homebuyers are loving Texas.

International homebuyers are flocking to the Lone Star State, according to a new report from the Texas Association of Realtors. From April 2016 to March 2017, more than 34,000 homes worth $18.66 billion were sold in Texas to buyers from across the globe.

Sales of such residences in Texas were up 59 percent during that period, and the dollar sales volume nearly doubled from the previous year.

Texas ranks No. 2, behind Florida and ahead of California, New Jersey, and Arizona in the number of international home sales.

“This surge in international home sales activity underscores the growing reputation Texas has as a global destination for owning a home or investment property,” says Vicki Fullerton, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, in a statement. “The state’s low unemployment, diverse industry base, and world-class higher education institutions are just some of the reasons why international residents seek to attend college, raise a family, or do business in Texas.”

Nearly half (43 percent) of Mexican homebuyers who purchased a home in the U.S. chose Texas. The Lone Star State also experienced a significant share of Chinese buyers, with 11 percent of international homebuyers from China purchasing a home in Texas, and 10 percent from India.

The report does not break down sales according to each Texas city, but big sales seems to be the case in the Houston area. "There’s so much movement coming into Texas," says longtime Houston Realtor John Daugherty. "The No. 1 population is coming from China. We see an incredible amount of international growth in this city in the next two to three years."

Nationwide, foreign buyers paid an average of $536,852 for a residence in the United States. The median purchase price was $302,300.

reports

Million-dollar homes

Multi-million-dollar gated home community The Preserve rises in Frisco

Preserve

A palace on the prairie of The Preserve in Frisco

Construction has begun on a multi-million-dollar custom home community in Frisco. Called The Preserve, it's situated among PGA Frisco’s championship golf courses and near the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, with multiple phases that will roll out over the next few years.

The Preserve is part of Fields, a 2,500-acre development in North Frisco off the Dallas North Tollway. Fields is co-developed and owned in partnership with The Karahan Companies, Hunt Realty Investments alongside investors Chief Partners and Cross Tie Capital.

The development will feature retail, dining, entertainment, hotels, corporate offices, native Texas plants, flowers, trees, and 250 acres of park space. It's designed by the same team responsible for Plano’s Legacy West, led by Fehmi Karahan.

Phase 1 of The Preserve will feature 233 homes crafted by 10 North Texas luxury homebuilders: Alford Homes, Coats Homes, and Starside Builders have all begun home construction. The other seven are The Preserve Bella Custom Homes, Endurance Homes, Faulkner Perrin Custom Homes, Hawkins-Welwood Homes, Shaddock Custom Builders & Developers, Sharif & Munir Custom Homes, and Ventura Custom Homes, for whom construction will start soon.

The Preserve Frisco The Preserve in Frisco, soon to be covered with homes.The Preserve

Lot sizes range from 6,800 square feet to more than an acre. Home design options will incorporate high ceilings, open floor plans, glass walls, and seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor such as patios, infinity pools, and landscaped exteriors.

The surrounding area will have more than 2,000 new trees plus views delivered via design elements such as floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive outdoor living areas.

Many of the homes will address sustainability, health, and wellness with green architecture, energy efficiency, water conservation, and recycled building materials.

It will combine the privacy of a gated community with resort-style living, featuring amenities such as the PGA golf courses, 20+ miles of hike and bike trails, and the exclusive Brookside Club with an expansive swimming pool, state-of-the-art fitness center, tennis and pickleball courts and a playground.

Prices will start at $3,500,000.

Hunt Realty SVP Todd Watson calls it one of the most anticipated mixed-use projects in the area -- æa perfect location for discerning buyers seeking their forever home or a secondary residence" — although he's involved with the project so he's probably biased.

“As part of the Fields development, with prominent neighbors like PGA of America and the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, we know The Preserve will be one of the most sought-after addresses in North Texas," Watson says.

According to the Frisco Economic Development Corporation, Frisco’s population has increased by 500 percent in two decades and was recently recognized as the fastest growing city in Texas and third across the U.S.

home-for-sale