Morning Briefing: Foreign buyers interest in US homes increasing…

Foreign buyers interest in US homes increasing… J-Lo heads for $28 million home in Bel-Air… Small land sales lead Texan real estate…

Foreign buyers interest in US homes increasing
Foreign searches for US homes on Trulia increased by almost 14 per cent in the three months to May 1, 2016 compared to the same period of 2016.

The firm’s data shows that Canadians were the most active searchers on the site (13.8 per cent of all international searches) but down 3 percentage points from a year earlier. A decline in searches from Canada for homes to buy was partly offset by a rise in searches for rentals.

UK-based searches made up 12.1 per cent followed by Germany (5.4 per cent) with Brazil and Australia (4.1 per cent each) completing the top 5.

Chinese buyers slipped to 0.8 per cent of all international searches on the site, while India saw the largest increase in traffic, up 47 per cent year-over-year but still representing a small proportion of overall international search activity.
 
J-Lo heads for $28 million home in Bel-Air
Jennifer Lopez is moving further from her days as ‘Jenny from the block’ with the purchase of an 8-acre estate in Bel-Air. The LA Times reports that Jen’s new home cost her $28 million but was bought by actress Sela Ward and her husband 10 years ago for $3.8 million.

J-Lo will have 4,000 square feet of living space including 7 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms. There is also a pair of cottages for guests, a swimming pool and a 100-seat amphitheatre. She is currently selling her property in Hidden Hills.
 
Small land sales lead Texan real estate
The highlight of the Texas real estate market in 2015 was small land sales according to new data from the Texas Association of Realtors.

There were 6,281 small land tracts sold in Texas in 2015, an 18.91 per cent increase from 2014. The average price per acre for small land sales also increased, rising 10.21 per cent to $5,657 per acre statewide.

“Despite sluggish performance for Texas’ agriculture and oil-and-gas sectors, Texas land sales continued to be incredibly strong in 2015,” said Leslie Rouda Smith, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors. “As our state’s population and economy have continued to grow, so has the number of Texans looking for getaway homes or development opportunities.”
“Investing in Texas land can yield higher returns than traditional investment options,” according to Charles Gilliland, economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. “More Texans are purchasing land for recreational purposes or a vacation property, knowing that if they sell in a few years, there’s a good chance they will see a strong return.”