How Trump's Presidency Could Impact International Real Estate - Arizona REALTOR® Voice

By guest blogger Cynthia Fauth

The ballots are counted, the decision is in and speculations on the new administration’s initiatives are in full swing! The potential impact on the international real estate industry could be significant, particularly in a state like Arizona, which draws more than $4 million in foreign investment to residential real estate.

Prior to the election, many claims were made that, “I’m moving to Canada!” should Trump be elected. Recent data from realtor.com/international supports that people were indeed looking into Canadian properties. According to that data, U.S. international property online searches were up more than 500-percent following the election results.

In addition, between 10 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. ET on Election Day, page views increased 948-percent compared to the same time period the week before. The searching continued the day after with traffic hitting a high at 1 p.m. ET when page views increased 536-percent compared with the same time the week before.

Overall, the weekly average of international property page views was up 329-percent compared to the week before (Nov. 7-9 versus Oct. 31–Nov. 2). It remains to be seen whether people will actually put their money where their browsers are, and most will likely wait to see what initiatives the new administration will pursue.

President-Elect Donald J. Trump made his fortune in real estate, so he certainly understands the importance and consequence that U.S. politics bring to the overall global property market. However, his policy platform has been rather vague in terms of real estate.

In the short term, the election results will have limited impact on the housing market. Longer-term changes affecting housing finance, the secondary mortgage market and tax policy changes will require Congressional action. Those policy debates could take months so any impact is a long way from reaching consumers.