Daylong event highlights latest trends, opportunities within international real estate market

NEW YORK — The volume of information shared at the latest Annual Global Real Estate Summit & Expo was underscored by the current intensity of foreign investment in the United States real estate market.

The Staten Island Board of Realtors® (SIBOR), which founded the annual event 11 years ago, partnered for Global Real Estate Summit NYC 2017 with the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors® (HGAR) and premier sponsor, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), to present the symposium Oct. 2.

More than 400 real estate professionals gathered at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel, Manhattan, to attend the daylong summit, which offered the latest trends, opportunities and data points on the global real estate market from more than 25 industry movers and shakers from around the world.

A welcome address from SIBOR Director Ron Molcho, chairman of Global Real Estate Summit NYC 2017, set the tone for an exciting, highly informative day – beginning with a spotlighting of NAR statistics that spoke to the massive global investment taking place in the United States.

For example, according to NAR’s “2017 Profile of International Activity in U.S. Residential Real Estate,” from April 2016 to March 2017, foreign buyers and recent immigrants purchased $153 billion of residential property in the United States.

On the commercial side, 47 percent of Realtors surveyed reported an increase in the number of international clients over the past five years, while 40 percent reported they are confident they will see increased sales and leasing activity from foreign sources in 2017.

“The tools and resources available to real estate professionals for bolstering their ability to succeed is constantly changing,” said SIBOR CEO Sandy Krueger during a pre-summit interview. “The international aspects of real estate may be harder to master than more traditional skills – but for those who do, the opportunities are endless. This conference is about learning how to identify and use those tools and resources to be a more successful practitioner.”

TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITIES

The keynote speaker at the event was Paul Boomsma, president of Luxury Portfolio International and COO of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, who spoke about the lucrative global real estate markets and provided data to illustrate the tremendous opportunities existing in luxury global real estate sales.

Boomsma highlighted key findings of Luxury Portfolio International’s recently released “2017 Global Luxury Real Estate Report” that highlighted key differences between luxury residential investors in North America, Europe, the Middle East/North Africa and Asia Pacific.

The report released Sept. 27 at the firm’s global symposium in Vienna, Austria indicated an ongoing global seller’s market – with 25 percent of high-net-worth individuals interested in purchasing luxury real estate, but only 17 percent planning to sell. The Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions are expected to see the highest levels of interest in purchasing and certain high-demand markets worldwide will face continued pressure.

Boomsma highlighted some key motivators for each market and how they are markedly different in some cases, as well as changing buying preferences in luxury real estate across the globe.

He said that the United States is still viewed as a safe haven for foreign investment. He also dispelled some speculation of a possible real estate bubble, noting that approximately half of the United States has not fully recovered from the recession that ended eight years ago.

Additionally, Boomsma said, while millennials are driving economic growth, baby boomers are driving cross-border real estate.

SAMPLING OF DATA

Some of the findings from the Global Luxury Real Estate Report he highlighted included:

  • The Asia-Pacific region has seen 21 percent growth in its $10 million or more net worth net worth population since 2015.
  • North America contains the largest number of $10 million or more net worth households and has seen growth of 146 percent in that demographic since 2010.
  • The top reason given by luxury consumers for purchasing a new home was to improve their quality of life.
  • 82 percent of luxury consumers state their privacy has never been more important.
  • 61 percent of potential U.S. high-net-worth buyers stated that security is what they are looking for in a home purchase.

“Cross-border business is alive and well,” Boomsma said, noting that such investment has increased $6.7 billion despite Brexit and other political and economic tumult that exists across the globe.

VARIETY OF TOPICS

Panels throughout the day featured industry experts discussing topics of interest to both established and aspiring international real estate professionals, including: Development Features that Attract Global Buyers; Rules of International Engagement from the Brokers’ Perspective; Organized Real Estate Across the Globe; Social Media, Mobile Apps and Digital Marketing for Realtors; The Role, View and Future Needs of Global Millennials, and International Trends and Opportunities.

SPONSORS AND VENDORS

The event also featured a variety of sponsors and booth holders including: American Homes Group; A.S.A.P. Mortgage Corp.; Community Home Brokerage, LLC; CoreLogic & Clareity; Cornerstone Realty; Dolgetta Law PLLC; Emigrant Mortgage; Empire State Bank; Empire State Realty Services; Expresso Agent; Exit Realty Liberty Homes; FIABCI-USA; Flexmls; Fordham Real Estate Institute at Lincoln Center; Freedom Mortgage; GeoDataPlus; Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate; HSBC Bank USA, N.A.; the law firm of  Merlino & Gonzalez;  National Association of REALTORS®; National Tenant Network; New York State Association of Realtors; The Nicotra Group LLC; NYU School of Professional Studies – Schack Institute of Real Estate; Patron Real Estate Brokerages; Popular Community Bank; RE/MAX – New York Region; RISMedia, Inc.; Schneps Communications; ShowingTime; The Real Deal Media; VirtualAPT Corp., and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

About the Staten Island Board of REALTORS® (SIBOR)

Established in 1915, the Staten Island Board of REALTORS® (SIBOR) is the largest professional and trade association in Staten Island, N.Y.

SIBOR exists to enhance the ability and opportunity of its members to conduct their business successfully and ethically, and promote the preservation of the public’s right to own, transfer and use real property.

Comprised of approximately 1,800 members, SIBOR serves real estate agents, brokers and affiliated professionals throughout the borough and surrounding areas.

SIBOR is the provider of the Staten Island Multiple Listing Service Inc. (SIMLS), which works as a clearinghouse through which more than 250 local real estate firms exchange information on properties they have listed for sale. Together, its members participate in over 3,000 real estate transactions every year.

All SIBOR Realtors belong to the New York State Association of REALTORS® (NYSAR) and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

SIBOR may be reached at 718-928-3220 and viewed online at www.SIBOR.com. SIBOR may also be visited on Facebook at “Staten Island Board of Realtors” and on Twitter via @SIBOR.

About the Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® (HGAR)

The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® (HGAR) is a not-for-profit trade association consisting of almost 11,000 real estate professionals doing business in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, and Orange counties, as well as Manhattan.  It is the second largest REALTOR® Association in New York, and one of the largest in the country.

The Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service (HGMLS), owned by HGAR, offers more than 16,000 properties in the Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties. It is among the top 50 largest MLSs in the country.

Media Contact: Barton Horowitz                                      
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