Global Update: Japan Added to Realtor.com/International Roster
Realtor.com/International has added a major country to its increasingly expansive roster: Japan. The major announcement came two weeks ago at a joint press conference in Japan between NAR and JARECO, one of NAR’s Japanese partners. Realtor.com/International now has over 300,000 Japanese listings live on the site, bringing the total amount of worldwide listings to over 4.5 million in 46 countries.
This comes as an important reminder that all of your members' listings that are on Realtor.com are automatically listed on Realtor.com/international. Listings are being seen from people all over the world who have the ability to customize their experience by viewing properties in their preferred language, currency and units of measurement. It is important that your members spend some time reviewing the site in order understand the user-experience of a foreign buyer looking at his/her U.S. listings. Here is a succinct overview of the platform.
Global in the news
Multifamily buyers seek foreign aid in second half of 2015
6/3/15
In a search for a more attractive yield, foreign investors will contribute a higher volume of equity towards U.S. multifamily deals during the second half of 2015- when acquisitions volume could peak. According to CBRE’s Global Investor Intentions Survey, 53 percent of global real estate investors plan to increase investment volume this year, with 38 percent planning to invest outside of their region.
$500K for a Green Card: Foreign investors help Portland boom
6/2/15
Kai Lu and his wife, Helen Shu, were raising their young daughter in China when an ultra-modern Marriott Courtyard hotel was built just minutes from their home in Suzhou, a congested suburb of Shanghai. The couple went to check out the new hotel and noticed a flyer in the lobby advertising a similar hotel in Portland, Oregon. The flyer was seeking investors who, in exchange for half a million dollars, could receive Green Cards for their immediate family.
Miami Properties Featured at Beijing Luxury Property Show
6/1/15
The MIAMI Association of REALTORS, the nations largest local Realtor association with 35,000 members, promoted South Florida real estate to Asian luxury buyers at China’s leading property showcase last month. MIAMI participated in the ninth annual Luxury Property Show Beijing show from April 24th-26th at the prestigious Legendale Hotel Beijing.
U.S. Bumps Europe as Asian Property Investors’ Top Spot
5/29/15
The U.S. has displaced Europe as the favorite place for Asian investment in foreign commercial real estate. Cross-border property investment by Asians surged to $8.6 billion in the first quarter, the most active start to a year since institutions in the region began a major push into overseas real estate in 2013, CBRE Group Inc. said in a statement Friday. The U.S. captured $3.3 billion of the total, ahead of Europe’s $2.5 billion.
