Canadians snap up U.S. homes

GULFPORT, Fla., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Canadians make up the largest portion of foreign buyers of U.S. homes, buying nearly one-quarter of them, a U.S. real estate trade association says.

Twenty-four percent of foreign U.S. home buyers from May 2007 to May 2008 were Canadian, double the percentage of a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors says.

They were drawn by the buying power of the newly strong Canadian dollar and depressed U.S. real estate prices, the Washington trade group says in a report.

The Canadian dollar was worth about 94 U.S. cents Friday after hitting a high of $1.10 in July 2007. It was worth 80 cents three years ago.

Canadians also benefit from a continued strong Canadian housing market and escalating home equity, unlike many Americans, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Overall Canadian home prices are expected to rise 5.3 percent this year after growing 11 percent in 2007 to an average of $307,265, the Canadian Real Estate Association says.

Most Canadian buyers bought homes in the Sunbelt, with Florida accounting for one-third of all purchases, followed by Arizona, says the report, cited in the Journal.

Some 7,200 Canadians bought Florida homes during the report period, more than double the 3,500 of a year earlier.

Fully 752 Canadians bought homes in Arizona, almost double the number of the year before, said Information Market, a real estate data firm in Glendale, Ariz.