Trulia Reports Growing Foreign Interest In Los Angeles And San Francisco, But Declines In Miami And Las Vegas

Trulia, Inc. (NYSE: TRLA), a leading online marketplace for homebuyers, sellers, renters, and  real estate professionals, today published its International House Hunter Report, which provides the inside scoop on current foreign interest in the U.S. housing market. Based on all home searches on Trulia between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2013, this report tracks which U.S. metropolitan areas prospective foreign home searchers are looking at and how that has changed during the past year. Check out the full report here.

Top 10 U.S. Housing Markets for International House Hunters

Foreign homebuyers remain big players in many U.S. housing markets, even as asking home prices rose 9.5 percent year-over-year (Y-o-Y) in May. Florida remains the most popular real estate market but has recently become less attractive as home prices recover. Of the 10 housing markets with the highest share of searches on Trulia coming from outside the U.S., eight are on the decline. Only in Los Angeles and San Francisco did the foreign share of search traffic rise in the past year.

#		U.S. Metro		Share of Home Searches from Outside the U.S.		Y-o-Y Change in Foreign Search Share
1		Miami, FL		14%		-4%
2		Los Angeles, CA		13%		4%
3		Fort Lauderdale, FL		12%		-9%
4		West Palm Beach, FL		10%		-12%
5		Honolulu, HI		10%		-17%
6		Orlando, FL		10%		-9%
7		San Francisco, CA		9%		2%
8		Cape Coral- Fort Myers, FL		9%		-13%
9		Lakeland- Winter Haven, FL		9%		-18%
10		Las Vegas, NV		8%		-4%
Note: Share of home searches from outside the U.S. is the percent of all searches on Trulia in each metro area that come from outside the United States.

Not All Foreigners Turned Off By Rising Home Prices

With the U.S. housing market in recovery, foreign interest in American real estate appears to be declining, but diversifying. Today, foreigners account for 4.3 percent of all the home searches on Trulia – down slightly from 4.4 percent the previous year. The largest share of foreign home searches over the past one-year period came from Canada (19 percent), the United Kingdom (9 percent), and Germany (5 percent), but interest has fallen or stagnated in these North American and European countries. However, home searches are on the rise from lower- and middle-income countries with strong economic growth and stronger spending power. In the past year, the share of searches from Nigeria, India, Russia, the Philippines, and China all leapt by more than 15 percent Y-o-Y.

America’s Global Neighborhoods: Bel Air, Tribeca, Brickell

International house hunters often concentrate their home searches in the most famous and expensive neighborhoods in town. For instance, 41 percent of searches in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles come from other countries, compared with 13 percent of searches in the overall Los Angeles metro area. Of the top 10 ZIP codes ranked by their share of foreign searches, four are on the west side of Los Angeles, three are in Manhattan, one is Miami, and two are in the Lakeland- Winter Haven metro in Central Florida.

#		ZIP Code		Neighborhood		U.S. Metro		Share of Home Searches from Outside the U.S.
1		90077		Bel Air		Los Angeles, CA		41%
2		90210		Beverly Hills		Los Angeles, CA		38%
3		90069		West Hollywood / Sunset Blvd		Los Angeles, CA		34%
4		33131		Brickell Ave / Brickell Key		Miami, FL		29%
5		10013		Tribeca / Little Italy		New York, NY-NJ		28%
6		10007		World Trade Center / City Hall		New York, NY-NJ		28%
7		33897		Davenport		Lakeland- Winter Haven, FL		28%
8		90265		Malibu		Los Angeles, CA		28%
9		33896		Davenport		Lakeland- Winter Haven, FL		28%
10		10019		Midtown / West 50’s		New York, NY-NJ		27%
Note: Share of home searches from outside the U.S. is the percent of all the searches on Trulia in the ZIP code that come from outside the United States.

PRE-APPROVED QUOTES

• “People from all corners of the globe are looking at U.S. homes,” said Jed Kolko, Trulia’s Chief Economist. “Even though foreigners are a declining share of all home searches, foreign interest is becoming more diverse. More searches are coming from rapidly-growing developing countries, especially in Asia and Africa.”
• “Foreigners are drawn to the rich-and-famous neighborhoods,” said Jed Kolko, Trulia’s Chief Economist. “In some of the priciest neighborhoods in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, more than one quarter of home searches come from other countries. But most Americans live in neighborhoods that lack worldwide name recognition. In most neighborhoods, foreigners account for less than 3 percent of home searches.”

ABOUT TRULIA, INC.

Trulia (NYSE: TRLA) gives home buyers, sellers, owners, and renters the inside scoop  on properties, places, and real estate professionals. Trulia has unique info on the areas people want to live that can't be found anywhere else: users can learn about agents, neighborhoods, schools,  crime, commute times, and even ask the  local community questions. Real estate professionals use Trulia to connect with millions of transaction-ready buyers and sellers each month via our hyperlocal advertising services, social recommendations, and top-rated  mobile real estate apps. Trulia is headquartered in downtown San Francisco. Trulia is a registered trademark of Trulia, Inc.