Real estate agents see return of foreign buyers
courtesy of kvoa.com
Canadian investor Arthur Wong is buying condos in Las Vegas and Phoenix like a shopper at Costco: In bulk, with slashed prices.
Wong, president of Optimus U.S. Real Estate Fund, has bought 60 condos at heavy discounts from developers in financial trouble. Wong paid about $62,500 each for 18 Las Vegas condos that once were priced at about $250,000 apiece.
“This could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for real estate investment,” said Wong, whose Calgary, Alberta-based fund has already invested $5 million cash and will spend millions more in the U.S. Southwest over the next several months.
While foreign real estate investment in the first six months of 2009 was lower than last year’s level, real estate agents from New York to Las Vegas say purchases have increased rapidly in recent months.
Foreign investors have long been attracted to U.S. residential real estate, drawn by the market’s stability compared with other countries. But the dollar’s descent in the past six months has made makes homes even cheaper for foreigners, and prices are showing signs of stability.
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