Mexican buyers fuel area property market

A new survey has confirmed what many in the local property market have been saying for years: A lot of Mexican nationals are in the market for homes in the Houston area.

In the last year, 39 percent of Houston-area real estate agents surveyed said they dealt with international clients, with people from Mexico making up the largest portion of shoppers from one country, according to the results of the 2012 International Real Estate Business Survey conducted by the Houston Association of Realtors.

The next largest group reportedly came from India, followed by the United Kingdom, China and Canada. More than 1,300 members of the local realty association participated in the survey, which was based on activity during the 12 months ending in April.

Houston's real estate market has always attracted Mexican buyers. But their reasons for coming here have changed, said Mariana Saldaña, owner of Uptown Real Estate Group.

In the past, affluent Mexicans would buy high-rise condominiums to have a place to live when they came here to shop.

Now, amid increased levels of crime in their country, they're coming to stay.

The Woodlands, a master-planned community north of Houston, seems to get the lion's share of Mexican buyers, agents say.

"Last year, we sold 47 new homes in The Woodlands, and every one of them was to a Mexican client," Saldaña said.

She said The Woodlands is popular because of its size and proximity to shopping, hospitals and Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Royal Oaks is another active neighborhood, she said, as is the Galleria area with all of its residential high-rises.

International business related to the energy industry, Texas Medical Center and Port of Houston also fuels property transactions involving foreign buyers, said Ward Arendt of Marilyn Arendt Properties.

Some coming here for short-term work stints, however, are renting.

"Unless they're here longer than three years, it doesn't make any sense for them to buy a house economically," said Arendt, a past chairman for both the Houston Association of Realtors' International Advisory Group and International Council of the Texas Association of Realtors.

Other highlights of the survey include:

1 Of the international clients looking for residential real estate, 79 percent want single-family homes, followed by 10 percent who are seeking residential leases. Townhouses, condominiums and resort properties were also of interest.

1 The majority of those who purchased properties spent between $100,000 and $400,000.

1 Of the respondents, 32 percent said clients bought homes with cash. In comparison, about 11 percent of domestic buyers in Houston paid cash, the association said, citing data from the National Association of Realtors.

Some respondents cited a lack of available financing for borrowers without U.S. credit history.

To a lesser extent, some said their buyers couldn't find properties.

Saldaña recently represented a Mexican buyer who purchased in Tanglewood. He had been looking for a couple of years but couldn't find the right house, so he decided to buy a lot and build.

Saldañasaid Mexican nationals want certain features that many homes here do not have.

"They always want guest quarters," she said. "They always want big dining rooms."

They also want all their bedrooms, including the master, upstairs, she said: "They want to be together."

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