Agents speak their buyers’ languages

Some 15% of real estate agents are fluent in a foreign language, according to a study of international buying patterns by the National Assn. of Realtors.

The study found a third of the foreigners who bought stateside real estate between April 2006 and April 2007 were from Europe, and nearly 25% hailed from Asia. Buyers from Canada and Mexico accounted for 23% of the sales to foreign nationals, and 16% came from Latin America.

-- Lew Sichelman