Century 21 seeks overseas buyers of U.S. homes

A house for sale by Century 21 is seen in a file photo. Century 21, the large U.S.-based real estate company, is looking to entice people from as far away as China into buying homes in the United States.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Century 21, the large U.S.-based real estate company, is looking to entice people from as far away as China into buying homes in the United States.

At a recent global franchise meeting in the Morrocan city of Marrakech, a push was made to boost U.S. home sales to foreigners with buying power swelled by a sinking dollar.

"Bring the money in," said Thomas Kunz, chief executive officer of Century 21 Real Estate in Parsippany, New Jersey, noting that many Europeans have a 45 percent discount on U.S. goods due to the strength of the euro against the dollar. "This is a marketplace that we need to really investigate," he told Reuters.

Century 21 is focused abroad and on broad education campaigns to draw domestic and international buyers to a record stockpile of unsold U.S. homes that has slammed prices.

"We've decided we're not going to participate in this pity party," Kunz said. "We're going to go out and educate our agents and managers, we're going to go out and help them educate the consumers that this is a buyable market."

An Orange County, California office had a recent referral from China.

A San Antonio, Texas-area agent is working with two different clients from the United Kingdom who want primary residences in New Braunfels, Texas. "The strength of their home currency against the U.S. dollar is most likely making their decision a little easier," a Century 21 spokesman said.

Canada is "an easy one," said Kunz, as big exchange rate premiums that Canadians long paid just across the border were mostly wiped out this year.

Century 21, a unit of Realogy Corp Hw.N, is well-placed to appeal to buyers overseas.

"Throw a dart at the world," Kunz said of the company's location in 58 countries, with more than 8,400 offices and 142,000 agents. "The sun never sets on our sign."

Like most industry veterans, Kunz sees housing as a long-term investment rather than a commodity.

And as an industry veteran of more than 35 years who is a sales chief, he also thinks there are plenty of reasons for shellshocked buyers to get off the fence and enter the market.

"Are mortgage companies and real estate companies having some problems? Yes. And it's based on decisions they made two or three years ago," he said. "But from the consumers' standpoint, it's the old adage: whatever you are buying, buy low and sell high. The marketplace right now is saying that prices are low, so why would you not be buying?"

In most cases, people have jobs if they want them, income is up and financing is available, Kunz maintains.

NOT JUST PREACHING

Confidence has been hammered by tepid sales, lenders shutting down or reporting multibillion-dollar losses stemming from subprime mortgages.

"If you went back to March or April and went out on the street and said, 'Tell me what subprime means,' 99 percent of people in the country hadn't even heard the word," Kunz said.

Many buyers are unwilling to commit, hoping for even lower prices and interest rates.

U.S. housing's downward spiral could soon reach bottom and bounce around the lows for about a year, he said.

Century 21 does not make sales volume figures public, a spokeswoman said.

Lending criteria changed for good reason. Many foreclosures are on homes bought with no money down, by borrowers who would have been shut out under more rigid standards.

"I've bought a lot of homes in my life, and for every one of those homes I've had to fill out an application, I've had to qualify for it and I've had to put money down. That's how you buy a home," Kunz said. "It is back to basics."

Kunz is now in the market looking to sell a home he bought when based in Southern California and pocket more than $700,000. There would have been $200,000 more at the 2005 peak, he said, but there is plenty with which to buy a larger house.

"I'm looking at one of the worst markets, Las Vegas, and in Southern California. So I'm not just preaching this."

Still, it's not all roses, he admits. The industry is going through a needed cleansing of realtors and lenders.

"Has it been difficult? Sure, any time you see an adjustment in the market, because you're dealing with emotions," he said, adding that outreach is critical.

"The thing that keeps me awake is I believe so much that this is an opportune market ... that I would just hate to have the average individual miss an opportunity like this," he said. "I don't think we'll ever see the hot market we saw in 2004 or 2005, but we'll definitely see it bounce back and people will see some appreciation on their properties."