In today’s hyper-connected economy, international borders are no barrier to building business at home. The National Association of REALTORS®’ (NAR) global team wants its members to benefit from the lucrative international market. NAR global works to expand members’ access to global real estate opportunities, to raise the level of professionalism in real estate across the globe and to foster transparent, safe and profitable global markets.
“Global real estate opportunities are everywhere,” says Alejandro Escudero, NAR’s director of Global Strategy. “People move to the U.S. from other countries every day, foreign-born individuals residing in the U.S. move to new markets, and Americans look to invest in property overseas. No matter which audience REALTORS® (members of NAR) are interested in tapping into, NAR global programs and resources will provide them with the knowledge, research, network and tools to help them globalize and expand their business.”
Global is local
The U.S. attracts people from across the globe who want to live, work and study here—including in your local market. International clients are an important market niche served by REALTORS®, as evidenced by the 2023 Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate. The profile presents information regarding NAR members’ transactions with international clients who purchased and sold U.S. residential property from April 2022 to March 2023. Highlights include:
- $53.3 billion–Dollar volume of foreign buyer residential purchases
- 84,600–Number of existing-home purchases by foreign buyers
- 51%–Percentage of foreign buyers who reside in the United States
- $396,400–Median purchase price for foreign buyers
- 50%–Percentage of foreign buyers who purchased a property for use as a vacation home
China, Mexico, Canada, India and Colombia had the highest number of U.S. buyers. Top destinations included Florida, California, Texas, North Carolina and Arizona.
NAR is global
NAR extends beyond the U.S. as a global trade association advocating for and protecting the rights of property buyers and sellers around the world and providing resources and support to 6,000-plus international REALTOR® members. “NAR has developed a network of over 100 international partners across 77 countries providing growth opportunities by ensuring ethical and accessible markets that allow our members to make direct connections with global real estate professionals and international investors,” explains Escudero.
NAR global resources
NAR offers a wide array of resources to help your brokerage capitalize on business opportunities with international clients both within the U.S. and abroad. You and your agents can take advantage of educational programs like the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), publications such as the Global Perspectives in Real Estate Newsletter and a variety of international research reports, along with valuable tools, including the REALTOR® Content Resource (nar.realtor/realtor-content-resource), a place to find shareable content, and Realtors Property Resource® , a residential and commercial property platform built exclusively for NAR members.
NAR en español
NAR en Español is a Spanish-language sub-site within the association’s main website, offering dozens of translated reference books, consumer handouts, webinars, digital marketing tools and much more. Check out all the resources at nar.realtor/nar-en-espanol.
Push the boundaries of your business and go global
Tap into the international real estate market to open new opportunities for you and your agents. Visit nar.realtor/global to get started.
NAR global at NAR NXT
Join the global team at NAR NXT, The REALTOR® Experience, Nov. 14–16, 2023, in Anaheim, California, to make the connections that can make an impact on your business. You’ll find many rich networking opportunities with REALTORS® from around the world, a variety of sessions in Spanish, plus exciting events like a welcome reception and International Night Out. Register at narnxt.realtor.