Bargain hunters hit the ‘lone star state’

Overseas investors are flocking to Texas for property bargains…

According to a recent study by the National Association of Realtors, 10 percent of the international buyers in the United States last year bought in Texas. Only Florida and California - with 26 and 16 percent - accounted for more international buyers.

The Coast of Texas, including vacation spots like South Padre Island and Galveston, is seen as a bargain spot compared with other areas. The median price in Houston, the fifth largest American city, is $155,000 compared with $385,000 in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, according to statistics from the Realtors' group.

"We didn't have the big blow up, the bubble," said Jim Gaines, research economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. While many states saw declines in 2007, housing prices in Texas surged almost 7 percent in the second quarter, according to federal statistics.

Although it is hard to quantify the number of international buyers in the Houston area, Gaines estimates that they account for 5 to 10 percent of the market. "For some segments, like high-end condos, it might be close to 20 percent," he said.