By Inman News
Thursday, February 2, 2012

Read this article on INMAN News

Florida remained the most popular U.S. property search destination among foreign house hunters during the last three months of 2011, according to a quarterly report from real estate technology and marketing company Point2.

Point2′s International Real Estate Traffic Report, which debuted in December, tracks visits from non-U.S. consumers to listings pages on the company’s public-facing property portal, Point2Homes.

During the fourth quarter. Point2Homes had an average of 800,000 U.S. listings, and international traffic accounted for 35 percent of traffic to the site.

The 10 most popular areas — nine states plus Puerto Rico — captured 84.9 percent of the site’s international traffic overall, little changed from the third quarter of 2011 and the same period a year ago.

“International interest presents a good opportunity for the savvy (real estate) agent. Those who can effectively market to international buyers interested in their city, by better understanding who they are, will be better equipped to tap this opportunity,” said Saul Klein, senior vice president for Point2.

Source: Point2

Florida was by far the most popular state, capturing 31 percent of international traffic to all U.S. listings, a slight drop from its 33 percent share in the third quarter. Arizona and Nevada held their No.2 and No. 3 spots, each increasing market share to 19.4 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively. California, U.S. territory Puerto Rico, Michigan, Texas, Hawaii, Georgia and New York also stayed in the top 10, though Michigan and Texas traded the No. 6 and 7 spots.

Top 10 states by share of international real estate traffic (Q4):

Source: Point2

Canada was by far the biggest source of international traffic for these 10 areas, accounting for the highest share of foreign traffic in all and the majority of foreign traffic in six: Arizona, where Canadians made up 93.6 percent of foreign traffic; Hawaii (78.3 percent); Michigan (74.1 percent); California (73.7 percent); Florida (65.9 percent); and Nevada (63.2 percent). Point2 is based in Saskatoon, Canada.

“We continue to see consistent international interest in U.S. real estate, particularly from Canadians, who typically travel to the U.S. for holidays. Many Canadians own property in the U.S., typically in warmer regions. We also find that there is interest in states with close proximity to Canada where the opportunity to own or invest in real estate seems very attractive, such as Michigan,” Klein said.

“In our opinion, the key drivers include a relatively strong Canadian dollar, ample inventory and motivated sellers.”

As in the third quarter, the United Kingdom and Mexico were the second- and third-biggest sources of international traffic to these 10 areas last quarter. Georgia had the biggest share of traffic from the U.K. among the 10, accounting for 11.3 percent of that state’s overall international traffic. Texas saw the biggest share of international traffic from nearby Mexico, making up 10.2 percent of the territory’s overall foreign traffic.

Las Vegas was the most popular city for foreigners, accounting for 14.5 percent of overall international visits to U.S. cities. Mesa, Ariz., was second, followed by Orlando, Fla.

Among the top 20 most popular cities, Florida accounted for seven, down from eight in third-quarter 2011; Arizona, five, up from three in the third quarter; Puerto Rico, three, up from two; California, two, down from four; and Nevada, Michigan and New York, one each.

Las Vegas attracted nearly all of Nevada’s international traffic in the fourth quarter (90.1 percent) with Canada as the leading source (62.1 percent), followed by Russia (10.7 percent), and Australia (3.7 percent).

International traffic was more evenly spread across Florida’s cities. Orlando attracted the biggest share (9.8 percent), followed by Pompano Beach (9.3 percent) and Kissimmee (7.5 percent). In Orlando, Canada accounted for 28.5 percent of foreign traffic, followed by Puerto Rico (20.8 percent) and the U.K. (12.7 percent). In Pompano Beach, Canada led the vast majority of traffic, 90.1 percent, followed distantly by Venezuela at 2.9 percent.

Canada also accounted for the vast majority of international traffic in Mesa and Detroit, the second and fifth most popular U.S. cities, respectively.

Mesa attracted 29 percent of overall international traffic to Arizona. Canada made up nearly 98 percent of international traffic to the city, followed by Albania at 0.6 percent.

In California, Indio was the most searched city, attracting 17.9 percent of the state’s international traffic. Canada accounted for 91.6 percent of the city’s foreign traffic, followed by the U.K. (4.9 percent), and Mexico (3.6 percent).

In Puerto Rico, San Juan was the most popular city with 18.1 percent of the territory’s fourth-quarter international traffic. Canada led among site visitors (24.5 percent), followed by Spain (12.7 percent), and Mexico (6.4 percent).

Florida attracted the most attention from international home shoppers who visited the Point2Homes consumer real estate listings portal for information on U.S. real estate in the fourth quarter.

The San Diego-based firm released its U.S. International Real Estate Traffic Report for the fourth quarter, which shows Florida ranked first in the nation when it comes to its popularity among international investors.

The state attracted 31% of all international traffic to its site, while Arizona came in second, drawing 19.44% of the site’s international traffic.  The state of Nevada ranked third after seeing its share of foreign-based traffic edge up to 8.61%, compared to 8.22% the previous quarter.

As for where the international travelers were coming from, Point2 said Canadian traffic generated the highest number of online visits. About 93% of Canadian visitors scoped out properties in Arizona, while 78% looked at homes in Hawaii and 74% reviewed homes listed in Michigan.

The United Kingdom and Mexico ranked second and third, respectively, in terms of international traffic numbers.

Read this article on National Mortgage Professional

Point2 has released its U.S. International Real Estate Traffic Report, for the fourth quarter of 2011. During the period, Florida was the most attractive state for international visitors, retaining the top spot among all U.S. states, for the second consecutive Point2 report quarter. The study analyzes international traffic to U.S. properties posted on the Point2 Homes consumer real estate listings portal. Florida attracted 31.04 percent of all international traffic to the U.S. in Q4, yielding just under two percent of its third quarter share to competing states. Arizona held its position as the second most popular online destination, and increased its share of traffic from 15.15 percent in Q3, to 19.44 percent. Nevada also carried over its Q3 spot, holding to third place, with a marginal increase in its share of traffic (8.61 percent vs. 8.22 percent).

The top 10 states identified in Point2’s Q3, 2011 report all retained their top 10 ratings, with the majority holding the same rankings. Only Michigan and Texas traded spots, swapping seventh and sixth place positions, respectively. Total international traffic to the top 10 states saw a significant drop however, decreasing by 23.41 percent in Q4 versus the previous quarter, and by 31.59 percent versus Q4, 2010.

Arizona held up the best, letting off just 1.7 percent of its total international traffic versus the third quarter. Texas saw the largest drop amongst the top ten, losing 39.27 percent versus Q3. Georgia, the ninth most attractive state for international traffic, saw a 29.29 percent drop in visitors. Florida, the lead state, gave up 28.02 percent.

Canadian Web traffic generated the highest number of online visits to all top 10 states, with a highlight 93.58 percent to Arizona, 78.28 percent to Hawaii and 74.11 percent to Michigan. The United Kingdom and Mexico also retained their spots as second and third highest traffic generators to the U.S., in Q4.

This week, the California real estate firm Point2Homes released its U.S. International Real Estate Traffic Report for Q4, and it’s got some great news for the State of Florida.  According to the 2012 real estate investment report, Florida was no. 1 in the country for foreign real estate investment.

Point2Homes tallied its site traffic and discovered that 31% of international visitors to its real estate web site were investigating Florida real estate investment possibilities.  And it’s not a close call – Florida is clearly overshadowing the other states, as Arizona totalled 19.44% to claim second place.

From the report (which you can read and download online here):

Orlando and Pompano Beach were the top two cities for traffic coming in to Florida properties, with Orlando at 9.77% and Pompano Beach at 9.32%.

Within Florida, foreign investors were investigating the following cities in descending order of popularity:

1. Orlando (9.77)
2. Pompano Beach (9.32%)
3. Kissimmee (7.54%)
4. Miami (5.56%)
5. Davenport (3.56%)
6. St. Petersburg (2.67%)
7. Hollywood (2.25%)
8. Deerfield-Beach (2.13%)
9. Pembroke-Pines (1.87%)
10. Tampa (1.86%)

Which Foreign Countries Are Most Interested in Investing in Florida?

According to this report, Canada is searching for Florida real estate investments (and US) more than any other foreign country; however there were quite a few British subjects (United Kingdom) surfing the site for information on Florida real estate.  And, surprising to no one here in Florida, Puerto Rico remains very interested in Florida investment coming in third as Mexican investment queries tallied a solid number 3 in the national Fourth Quarter 2011 totals.

People who visited the US from outside its borders to look at real estate during the fourth quarter went to Florida. The rest of America can forget on seeing real estate traffic.

According to Point2′s US International Real Estate traffic report

Florida attracted 31.04% of all international traffic to the U.S. in Q4, yielding just under 2% of its Q3 share to competing states. Arizona held its position as the second most popular online destination, and increased its share of traffic from 15.15% in Q3, to 19.44%. Nevada also carried over its Q3 spot, holding to third place, with a marginal increase in its share of traffic (8.61% vs. 8.22%)

And,

Las Vegas Maintained Lead City Status – Las Vegas once again ranked first (14.53%) on the report as the overall most attractive city for online visitors. Mesa, Arizona followed in second place and Orlando, Florida in third.

Download the complete report PDF, which includes charts and data covering the top traffic originating countries for 100 cities in the U.S.

For questions, more information or for data interpretation and further analysis or custom reports, please contact Roger Noujeim at rnoujeim@point2.com.

Florida attracted 31.04% of all international traffic to the U.S. in Q4, yielding just under 2% of its Q3 share to competing states. Arizona held its position as the second most popular online destination, and increased its share of traffic from 15.15% in Q3, to 19.44%. Nevada also carried over its Q3 spot, holding to third place, with a marginal increase in its share of traffic (8.61% vs. 8.22%).

The top 10 states identified in Point2’s Q3, 2011 report all retained their Top Ten ratings, with the majority holding the same rankings. Only Michigan and Texas traded spots, swapping 7^th and 6^th place positions, respectively.

Total international traffic to the top ten states saw a significant drop however, decreasing by 23.41% in Q4 vs. the previous quarter, and by 31.59% versus Q4, 2010.

Arizona held up the best, letting off just 1.7% of its total international traffic versus the third quarter. Texas saw the largest drop amongst the top ten, losing 39.27% versus Q3. Georgia, the ninth most attractive state for international traffic, saw a 29.29% drop in visitors. Florida, the lead state, gave up 28.02%.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Canadian traffic once again generated the highest number of online visits to all top ten states, with a highlight 93.58% to Arizona, 78.28% to Hawaii and 74.11% to Michigan.

The United Kingdom and Mexico also retained their spots as second and third highest traffic generators to the U.S., in the quarter.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

More information, charts and data including the top traffic originating countries for 100 cities in the U.S., can be obtained by downloading the complete report PDF.

Methodology

The Point2 U.S. International Real Estate Traffic Report is a quarterly study that analyzes online traffic patterns in the United States to identify areas of relative concentrated interest from foreign buyers, and related trends. The analysis is based on unique property listing search and visit occurrences each within a 30 minute period or longer to the Point2 Homes international real estate consumer portal.

Source: Point2

This data and related report(s) may be re-published in part or in whole without modification to the data, with the source indicated as Point2, a real estate marketing solutions provider, at the first mention of the report. The Point2 logo must accompany all publishing of relevant imagery and materials such as maps and charts. Point2 makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the data compiled for this report and bears no responsibility for any inaccuracies that may occur. Possible low relative traffic to certain regions on Point2 Homes during the study period may largely influence the results in these areas. For questions, more information or for data interpretation and further analysis or custom reports, please contact Roger Noujeim at rnoujeim@point2.com.

About Point2

Point2 (www.Point2.com) provides real estate marketing and lead management software to brokers and agents in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa, as well as listing data aggregation and syndication solutions to real estate MLSs (Multiple Listing Service), Boards and Associations across the U.S. and Canada. Point2’s solutions also include the consumer real estate listings portal, Point2 Homes, as well as end-to-end property management software for small to medium size organizations managing up to 1000 units. Point2 is a Yardi Systems Inc. (www.yardi.com) brand.

For ongoing news about Point2, please visit http://point2newsroom.com/.

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Read this article on RIS Media

Relatively speaking, social media in real estate is nascent. As a networking, communications and marketing channel, it can add serious value to your go-to-market and business development efforts.

While by no means comprehensive, here are three thoughts and ideas regarding the role of social media for REALTORS®:

1. Social media will never replace your website.
Everyone is talking about social media and many are saying that it will eventually replace a traditional website. However, in my opinion, this is unlikely. Instead, social media will continue to feature prominently in online marketing, but will never completely remove the need for a website.

A REALTOR®’s website is a great place to feature a listing with property details that you wouldn’t find on social media. The listing would also incorporate lead capture options. Today, social media isn’t a great place to get leads because there’s the potential for them to be stolen. A listing featured on a website, however, can include social sharing options.

The concept that seems to make the most sense is that your website should be the hub of all your online marketing activities. Social media should function as a way to drive traffic to your website, where you can then provide more substantive information about your business and services.

2. Research, research, research.
Before attending NAR’s Annual Conference this past November, I took the time to prepare in advance by following my connections’ activities on various social media sites, as I always do. I took notice if they had a new grandchild or bought a new car, and I committed to memory their vacations and other facts. By the time the conference rolled around, I was able to use this information to start conversations, showing that I have a genuine interest in the people I do business with.

3. Listen more than you talk.
I hardly ever post anything on social media sites, but rather spend my time listening to what other people say. It’s crucial that you exercise extreme caution in both the content and wording of everything you post, as anything you share through social media will likely resonate with someone you know.

When it comes to social media, some people would argue that a strong social media presence requires you to post insights into your own life, personal and professional.

As social media continues to infiltrate the real estate industry, who is right when it comes to creating a successful social media strategy? Those who advocate for more activity on social media or those who insist on less? I can’t say. Perhaps the best solution is to give it a try and see which approach best fits you, your business and objectives.

Walt Baczkowski is vice president, Point2 Sales and Marketing.

For more information, please visit www.point2.com

Kicking off 2012

2011 was the year of growth, perseverance and blowback in which hundreds of companies launched and saw huge rounds of funding despite a defunct economy. For 2012, we are watching many startups as they grow, but we also have several legacy brands on our watch list as we hear rumors of big changes coming this year.

The following 60 brands were narrowed down from hundreds of companies that we have covered at AGBeat that are vying for your attention this year, and all 60 are poised to dominate in 2012.

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Point2
In 2011, Point2 launched the MLS Certified program, “an initiative designed to drive higher standards in property data publication” with a pending trademark on the MLS Certified logo as a “trust symbol to support higher real estate data standards and consumer expectations online.” Point2 syndicates from over 240 MLSs with over 1.1 million listings to more than 50 consumer sites. The MLS Certified™ logo will appear on Realtors’ listings of participating boards. Because of the continuing controversies surrounding real estate data and NAR committee votes regarding MLS data, IDX feeds and the like, 2012 will be the year people start paying attention to the oft overlooked MLS Certified program. Read more about the MLS Certified program.

By: Andrea Brambila, Thursday, December 22, 2011
Read this article on INMAN News

The coming year will see an increased scrutiny of the value of real estate listings syndication; a renewed debate around broker control of listings data and its distribution channels; and a rising demand among consumers and real estate professionals for higher-quality data, according to more than a dozen industry experts contacted by Inman News.

A coming wave of syndication withdrawals?

In November, HomeServices of America subsidiary Edina Realty Inc. announced plans to pull listings from Trulia and Realtor.com, reigniting a debate over the pros and cons of syndicating listings to third-party sites.

Edina Realty’s syndication withdrawal may be among the first in a coming wave where brokerages and multiple listing services decide to syndicate real estate listings only to sites that provide the most value, some experts said.

Edina’s move, and a similar withdrawal by Shorewest Realtors in 2010, may be “just the tip of the iceberg,” said Michael Audet, founding partner at WAV Group, a real estate consulting firm.

“I think the broker industry is and will take a serious look at the entire issue of syndication. There is a growing concern that the return on value from third-party sites like Zillow and Trulia is just not there,” Audet added.

Bob Peltier, Edina Realty’s president and CEO said, “I just don’t see the value for our company to continue to support that business model. (Third-party real estate search sites) are not brokers. They’re not in the (brokerage) business. Their model is to sell advertising to anybody that will buy it.”

The brokerage has thus far pulled its listings from Trulia, though the companies have devised a workaround that allows Edina agents to submit their own listings to Trulia if they choose. The brokerage is attempting to negotiate a similar workaround with Realtor.com before pulling its listings from that site.

Mark Weiss, director of business development at Trulia, anticipates listings syndication will be among the most controversial data issues in 2012.

“Some brokers (will decide) not to syndicate at all in an effort to force consumers to their site for information, while others take the opposite approach trying (to) capture consumers online that brokers who are not syndicating have ignored,” Weiss said.

“The focus for real estate professionals should be getting their listing data to the most qualified homebuyers and sellers in the most cost-efficient method possible,” he added.

As the value of listing data is further assessed in 2012, multiple listing services may decide that value is worth a price, some experts said.

“As (brokers and MLSs) are digging into licensee business models and understanding how much money is being made — and that they have zero piece of that pie … the potential for increased data costs to licensees or revenue-share demands is very palpable in the near future,” said Kim Cipriano Prior, senior vice president of marketing and MLS market development at real estate data company Onboard Informatics.

Taking control of listing data

Rather than distributing their listings “anywhere and everywhere,” brokers are taking back more control of where their listings are distributed, said Charlie Young, president and CEO of Realogy Corp. subsidiary ERA Real Estate.

“The reason for this is simple: If you don’t know where your listings are appearing, you can’t track them and therefore you can’t pinpoint critical marketing metrics such as cost per lead, cost per transaction, and lead sources. Being able to articulate these metrics as a key component of your value proposition to both agents and consumers is critical,” Young said.

Saul Klein, senior vice president of listings syndicator Point2, expects syndication to veer toward “report card-based syndication” based on performance, or “criteria-based syndication” based on conditions dictating what can and cannot be done with feeds of listings data.

“Control will be a key issue with data providers, as they will expect and demand that they know and control — from all data display entities — where their data is being displayed; what the source of the data is, if not directly from them; what happens to the data when no longer active; and reporting on consumer interactions with that listings data,” said Errol Samuelson, president of Realtor.com.

Nonetheless, Samuelson predicts “technology and industry-friendly innovations will offer solutions that will ensure listings maintain their integrity and brokers manage and maintain control of their listings content.”

MLS data pirates

Brian Larson, president of consulting firm Larson/Sobotka Business Advisors LLC, anticipates more MLSs will go after “data pirates” who redistribute licensed MLS data without authorization.

“We are working with some clients now to evaluate effective ways of shutting down folks who steal data from listing brokers and MLSs. I’d expect some news on this front in the first quarter,” Larson said.

Realtor.com’s Samuelson noted that Realtor.com has seen 1 million separate attempts of data “scraping” on the site over the last 30 days.

“While Realtor.com has sophisticated technologies to block these attempts, the vast majority of third-party, broker, agent, and MLS public websites do not. Brokers need to choose a syndication source for their listings data and make sure none of their vendors or agents are syndicating data through other means,” Samuelson said.

“MLSs can play a role as well in making sure that vendors — IDX (Internet Data Exchange) companies, CMA (comparative market analyses) suppliers, etc. — are not violating their MLS agreements by resyndicating the data that is being provided by the MLS for a certain purpose.

“Brokers and agents should only work with sites whose practices or business models match their values and needs.”

Syndication via social media

In November, NAR’s Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee approved, in concept, suggested language to broaden the group’s IDX policy to give members the right to display shared listings data from their MLS through mobile apps and social media, though it rejected language that would have allowed display through RSS feeds.

“What will it look like? How will brokers and agents manage data on these sites? Will they lose more control or is it no big deal? I think it will be a hot topic as it unfolds,” WAV’s Audet said.

Increasing consumer demand for more, better, meaningful data

As real estate leaders tackle larger policy issues this coming year, real estate professionals and consumers on the ground will demand more and higher-quality data to help them gauge the state of the housing market and when it might reach that elusive “bottom,” several experts said.

“In time of continued anxiety, people are looking for glimpses of hope in home sales and price(s), and foreclosure activity,” said Avi Gupta, vice president of marketing and operations for predictive marketing company SmartZip.

Consumers and real estate professionals will also be hungry for reliable and accurate home valuations, forward-looking home-price indices, sold property data, and listings history data that includes a property’s sales history, price changes, and dates on and off market, experts said.

“I believe consumers will be looking for more historical records on the properties for sale to help them make more informed decisions in the homebuying and selling process,” said Cary Sylvester, executive director of technology at Keller Williams Realty International.

Any third-party or industry sites that offer such data will have a “leg up,” said Gregg Larson, president and CEO of Clareity Consulting. “Consumers will find the history invaluable and return to those sites that offer it,” he said.

Both consumers and real estate professionals will want data that is in real time, experts said, or better yet, predictive.

“The media, agents, and consumers are frustrated by how much market data is reported with a lag and tells us what has already happened. The major home-price indexes report on market conditions that are several months out of date by the time they’re published,” said Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist.

“Consumers and the industry will value any forward-looking data that shows what will happen to housing demand and supply in the near or distant future.”

Clareity’s Larson said he expects agents’ ratings will become hotter in 2012, especially those that combine data on agent productivity and customer satisfaction.

“Eighty-one percent of consumers want agent ratings, but only 14 percent of agents like the idea. More agent ratings will evolve in 2012, and many agents are in denial … hoping (the ratings) will go away. They won’t — it’s just getting started!” Larson said.

A deluge of data

As real estate data proliferates, data providers that best define their methodologies and standards will dominate in 2012, said Greg Sax, communications director at Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors subsidiary 10K Research and Marketing.

“It’s not enough to just provide numbers. Real estate professionals and consumers alike want context and they want to trust what they are looking at,” Sax said.

Nevertheless, the deluge of data will also give real estate professionals a chance to show off their expertise to consumers, said Jonathan Hill, president of RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), a subsidiary of Mid-Atlantic regional MLS MRIS, among the largest MLSs in the nation.

“Smart real estate professionals understand that ‘data’ — the bits and pieces we collect every day — is best conveyed to consumers as information, giving those pieces context and perspective: How does this year’s median sale price compare to last year’s? They can then convert that information to market knowledge: Median sale price increases mirror market activity levels,” Hill said.

“What consumers really want is the story — the analysis — of what is happening and why.”

Additional commentary from industry experts:

…CONTINUED on INMAN News

Many real estate professionals have turned towards international buyers in order to drive their business forward. In turn, an exploding niche of real estate professional has emerged that caters to international buyers – from those specializing in Chinese investors in California to Canadian snowbirds in Arizona.

Along with this explosion of activity has come a desire for insight into the question of just where are international buyers coming from? To answer this question Point2Homes.com came up with some interesting results in regards to where international traffic is coming from, and where it is headed.

The top 10 cities for international traffic online by international buyers in the third quarter are:

1. Las Vegas, Nev.

2. Orlando, Fla.

3. Kissimmee, Fla.

4. Detroit, Mich.

5. Pompano-Beach, Fla.

6. Miami, Fla.

7. Mesa, Ariz.

8. Davenport, Fla.

9. Phoenix

10. Indio, Calif.

Florida properties emerged as the lead attraction for foreigners online, followed by Arizona and Nevada real estate listings. Florida real estate listings captured 33.03 percent of the international traffic recorded to all U.S. states during the quarter. Arizona attracted 15.15 percent and Nevada 8.22 percent.

Canadian traffic made up 91.89 percent of the overall international traffic to Arizona listings, 75.90 percent to Hawaii, 73.92 percent to Michigan, 70.55 percent to Nevada and 65.05 percent to California. Puerto Rico, also covered in the report, ranked tenth on the list, with 16.82 percent of the traffic.

Las Vegas ranked first (14.53%) on the report’s overall ‘top 20’ cities in the nation category for online properties searched by international visitors. The top 20 list includes eight cities in Florida, four in California and three in Arizona. Las Vegas real estate listings attracted 91.73 percent of all the international traffic recorded for the state of Nevada during the third quarter, with Canada as the leading source at 70.47 percent. The UK followed at 5.28 percent and France at 2.19 percent.

To download the full report, go here and scroll to bottom.

By Inman News, Thursday, December 15, 2011
Read this article on INMAN News

Sunny Southern and Western states dominated among the most popular U.S. property search destinations for foreign homebuyers in the third quarter, according to a report from Canada-based real estate technology and marketing company Point2.

For the report, the company tracked visits from non-U.S. consumers to listings pages on its public-facing property portal, Point2Homes, in the third quarter. Point2Homes had more than 768,000 U.S. listings last quarter, comprising 84 percent of all listings on the site. International traffic accounted for 35 percent of traffic to the site’s listings pages last quarter.

Source: Point2

Florida was by far the most popular state, capturing 33 percent of international traffic to all U.S. listings, followed by Arizona, Nevada, California and Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory.

Top 10 states by share of international real estate traffic (Q3):

Source: Point2

Canada was by far the biggest source of international traffic for these 10 areas, accounting for the highest share of foreign traffic in all and the majority of foreign traffic in seven: Florida, where Canadians made up 61 percent of foreign traffic; Arizona (nearly 92 percent); Nevada (70.6 percent); California (65.1 percent); Texas (53.4 percent); Michigan (nearly 74 percent); and Hawaii (nearly 76 percent). Point2 is based in Saskatoon, Canada.

The United Kingdom and Mexico were the second- and third-biggest sources of international traffic to these 10 areas. Georgia had the biggest share of traffic from the U.K. among the 10, accounting for 14.3 percent of that state’s overall international traffic. Puerto Rico saw the biggest share of traffic from Mexico, making up 11.4 percent of the territory’s overall foreign traffic.

Las Vegas was the most popular city for foreigners, accounting for 14.5 percent of overall international visits to U.S. cities. Orlando, Fla. was second (6.3 percent), followed by Kissimmee, Fla. (4.5 percent), and Detroit (4.2 percent).

Among the top 20 most popular cities, Florida accounted for eight; California, four; Arizona, three; Puerto Rico, two; and Michigan, Nevada and Texas, one each.

Las Vegas attracted nearly all of Nevada’s international traffic (91.7 percent) with Canada as the leading source (70.5 percent), followed distantly by the U.K. (5.3 percent), and France (2.2 percent).

Given the popularity of Florida among foreign homebuyers, international traffic was more evenly spread across the state’s cities in the third quarter. Orlando attracted the biggest share (11.4 percent), followed by Kissimmee (7.9 percent). In Orlando, Canada accounted for 35.9 percent of foreign traffic, followed by the U.K. (13.5 percent). In Kissimmee, the U.K. led with 38 percent of traffic, followed by Canada at 25.6 percent.

Canada and the U.K. also led among sources of international traffic in Detroit, the fourth most popular U.S. city.

Mesa was the most popular city in Arizona, attracting 20.3 percent of overall international traffic to the state. Canada led among sources (94.7 percent), followed by Ethiopia (1.2 percent).

In California, Indio was the most searched city, attracting 15 percent of the state’s international traffic. Canada accounted for 95.3 percent of the city’s foreign traffic, followed by Panama, South Africa, the U.K., and Venezuela (all 1.2 percent).

In Puerto Rico, Dorado was the most popular city with 15.5 percent of the territory’s third-quarter international traffic. Mexico dominated among site visitors (61.6 percent), followed by Colombia (6.8 percent), Canada (5.4 percent), and the U.K. (5.4 percent).

Klein has been honored with the INMAN 100 recognition eight years in a row.

The Inman 100 annual report recognizes individuals who embody leadership, ingenuity, strength, conviction, power, persistence, perseverance and progress. Executives whose’ voices and actions can move the real estate industry toward change.

“It is an honor to once again be included in this group. I want to thank INMAN News and all those who work with me and with whom I share this recognition, at Point2, RealTown, and Yardi,” said Saul Klein, senior vice president, Point2.

Inman News accepted and reviewed hundreds of reader nominations via an open, online nominations process that concluded in early November. An Inman News in-house review and selection process, led by the Inman News editorial department, considered reader-selected nominees and also suggested additional individuals worthy of consideration.

For more information about the Inman 100 list, visit http://www.inman.com/inman100.

About Point2

Point2 (www.point2.com) provides real estate marketing and lead management software to brokers and agents in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa, as well as listing data aggregation and syndication solutions to real estate MLSs (Multiple Listing Service), Boards and Associations, across the U.S. and Canada. Point2’s solutions also include the consumer real estate listings portal, Point2 Homes, as well as end-to-end property management software for small to medium size organizations managing up to 1000 units. Point2 is a Yardi Systems Inc. (www.yardi.com) brand.

More information about Point2 can be found at www.Point2.com. For ongoing news about Point2, please visit www.point2.com/news.asp.

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