There has been discussion about a weakening US Dollar, especially during the recent government shutdown. However, Golan said foreign investors see this as an opportunity for their home currency to go farther in the US. Because of this, he said demand has been steady.
“People invest in real estate to buy their future, build passive income, fight against inflation, and Canada is the next-door country,” Golan said. “I don’t see any slowing of demand. Maybe some are saying, ‘Oh, it’s too expensive.’ When the US market crashed in 2008, that was the highest influx of foreign investment into US real estate.
“Why is that? The largest market in the world has crashed, which builds an opportunity. You invest in America and the USD, and then everything recovers. It bounces back. Now, the USD isn’t as strong as it used to be. People are saying, ‘Great, I can buy more USD with my home country currency. So when that stabilizes, I own more properties.’”
New construction a main target
Golan said when analyzing what foreign investors are looking to purchase, new home construction is one of the strongest segments. While the data on this can be incomplete, he can draw some trends from the data that is available.
“Why do foreign nationals like new construction?” Golan said. “Very simple, if you live in Canada, if you live in Germany, if you live in Colombia, you want to buy something you don’t need to deal with. When you buy a new property, there’s an HOA and a management company. It’s a new construction. You have a warranty for all your equipment, and someone runs it.