While the pandemic slowed down global investment in U.S. real estate, it never totally stopped. And, says Anthony Hitt, CEO and president of Engel & Völkers Americas, despite the social unrest and contentious political scene in the U.S., it’s still a safe haven for global investors.
Today, you’ll be listening to an exclusive interview with Hitt. Prior to joining Engel & Völkers in 2014, Anthony worked with Sotheby’s International Realty in Los Angeles. He’ll share his expertise about the global investment in the U.S. real estate market, who’s buying and strategies for building a global brokerage.
Here is a small preview of today’s interview with Hitt. The transcript below has been lightly edited for length and clarity:
Tracey Velt: Obviously, your brokerage company has a global focus, but you also work with domestic buyers. What are some of the things you’re seeing, what countries seem to be active in investing in real estate in the United States, and where are you seeing the most movement state to state?
Anthony Hitt: It’s interesting, when people think of Engel & Völkers, they think of a luxury brand. They immediately think that we work exclusively with global buyers. When we look at the global investment business though, what’s interesting to me in the Americas is, we’ve always seen the impact coming from Canada. A lot of Canadians are interested in the US.
When we go over to Europe and Asia, the United States has always been a safe have. That hasn’t changed much during the pandemic. We still have the level of interest from European buyers, whether it be a second home or an investment property. We certainly still see, especially in Canada, the influx of Asian buyers who want to be here. What the pandemic has caused, of course, is the challenge of how do you make that happen? So while we’ve seen a trend for fewer international buyers over the last year, there’s a pent-up demand that, as restrictions are decreased, we’re going to see an influx of those buyers.
REAL Trending features the brightest minds in real estate. Twice a month, brokerage leaders, top agents, team leaders, and industry experts share their success secrets, trends, and lessons learned navigating this ever-changing industry. Hosted by Tracey Velt and produced by Victoria Wickham.
