Stories like this one, reporting on the National Association of Realtors 2011 Profile of International Home Buying Activity (pdf), bring to mind the days when the Windy City buzzed about a looming swarm of Irish home buyers and investors.

The Irish never materialized in appreciable numbers, and the buzz died even before the Irish economy did.

The NAR study doesn’t rank Chicago among the top destinations for foreign buyers, and it’s hard to imagine why foreigners would buy here unless they had family or business interests in the area.