By LESLIE KAUFMAN

Agents for properties adjacent to America’s most desired beach and ski communities say there have been a lot more foreigners looking to take advantage of favorable exchange rates in the last year. But they say these prospective buyers are still wary of America’s volatile economy and concerned that housing prices could continue to decline. The result is that despite their interest in getting a great deal, foreigners have been slow to purchase in all but the most recession-proof properties in the most expensive areas, like East Hampton, New York; and Beverly Hills, California.
Rick Hoffman, regional senior vice president with Corcoran, which runs one of the largest real estate offices on the East End of Long Island in New York, said sales at the very high end have remained very strong, though they have slowed in the midtier, which he defined as $1 million to $3 million.
“What we are definitely seeing is an increase in foreign renters,” he said, noting the firming of the euro and pound over the last two years and a leveling of rental prices. “So for them,” he added, “it is an automatic discount.”
In other vacation markets, like Cape Cod in Massachusetts , foreigners are cautious, but are looking and are providing hope for the market.
“In truth, this year was a little slower out of the blocks than last spring, said Brendan Cunningham , the chief executive of ERA Cape Real Estate in Harwichport, Massachusetts.
But he said that open houses have been full of foreigners interested in renting, perhaps with an eye to buying.
Deb Howard, who runs a real estate firm in the Lake Tahoe area, which straddles the California-Nevada border, said her region was also among those drawing a lot more foreigners, primarily from Mexico and Asia because of more favorable currency rates. There, too, she said, a lot of visitors are looking but have not yet committed to buy. “I am seeing an increase in inquiries; the early signs of the interest,” she said.
Despite that hesitation, Ms. Howard said she saw a positive trend. “I believe it will eventually be good for sales,” she said.
There are no accurate records of how many second homes went to people who make their primary residence outside of the United States, but there can be no doubt that the exchange rates for the last few years have made such purchases tempting. Although it has lately recouped some strength, in the last two years alone, the dollar is off nearly 6 percent against the pound, over 18 percent against the euro and about 9 percent against both the Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso.
Economists who track the housing market say foreign buyers must be helping, or are at least lessening the pain, in the real estate market.
“The circumstantial evidence strongly argues that global investors are indeed supporting these secondhome markets,” said Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody’s Economy. com.
“People have cash overseas, and U.S. vacation spots look like a bargain, so we are not seeing the decline in prices one might expect,” he said. “In places like Miami, for example, prices are falling but not collapsing the way you would have thought. It shows decline, not free fall.”
Areas that have historically held their value are a lure to investors who don’t need to worry about long-term carrying costs.
Last summer, soon after John Cook sold a vacation property in Italy, he visited friends in New York City. As part of the trip, Mr. Cook, who runs a furniture importing business from London, went to the friends’ summer home in East Hampton. He fell in love with the beaches and with what his money could buy in America.
“I guess I was bowled over at what a pound was worth compared to the dollar,” he said. He decided to start looking. In the fall, he returned and visited 30 properties and bid on three. By January he had closed a deal.
The place he chose was in the woods instead of close to the ocean. With a double-height ceiling in the living room and a 12-meter pool in the back, it was far from a dump - but with three bedrooms, neither was it a mansion.
Although it was listed at $1.25 million, Mr. Cook said he had managed to pay a little less. Still, he added, with the British pound at about $2, “it felt like a steal.”