The demand for Houston condos within the Galleria and River Oaks District is being driven in large part by foreign national buyers.
According to Nancy Almodovar, CEO of Nan & Co. Properties, foreign nationals, namely those from Mexico and Latin America, ‘love’ Houston condos. A number of these foreign buyers are looking to purchase units, often on a presale basis, as second or investment homes, while another portion are relocating to Houston.
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This interest is of good news to brokerages like Nan & Co., which caters to foreign national buyers.
“Is it slowing Houston, not at all,” Almodovar said, pointing to Randall Davis’ 99-unit condo tower in the Galleria, which is more than 50 percent pre-sold. The development, dubbed Arabella, broke ground this past October.
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To better corral foreign buyers the brokerage recently partnered with Highrises.com to be the site’s designated firm for all Houston condo listings.
“This benefits our clients,” Almodovar said. “We’re not pushing one building on them. We have everything for everyone.”
The partnership recently announced between the condo listings site and Nan & Co. was forged after the existing exclusive agent for all of HighRises.com’s Houston listings, Kristina Houston, joined the firm.
Location, prices appeal to foreign buyers
For foreign nationals, specifically those from Mexico, Houston is an attractive market in part because of its proximity to a number of Mexican cities. Almodovar points out that a buyer can catch a direct flight to every major city from Houston.
The city’s condo prices in comparison to other major U.S. metros also add to the market’s attractiveness.
“Yeah, your dollar goes a longer way in Houston,” Almodovar agreed, adding some of the newly-built or underway condo towers in the Galleria are selling units for between $550 and $650 a square foot.
Several months ago Houston was cited by Zillow as having the lowest median condo price among the nation’s 18 largest metros. In that report, Houston’s median condo price was cited at $108,900, which equated to a 14 percent year-over-year gain in values.
