Selling foreign real estate and paying taxes

[Ryan MacDonald]

So I have a question regarding the selling of a foreign property and paying taxes on it.  My family has property that was purchased as a primary residence back in 1972 and was lived in until 1979 when they moved to the states.  Since that time, it has been rented out and we have recently decided on selling it to a commercial builder who is buying properties in order to build a high rise.  

That being said, since it was used as a primary residence, but it was in a foreign country, do we still have to pay capital gains tax on it?  I know here in the US, you can avoid those taxes if the property was your primary residence for at least 2 years, but I'm not sure what the US law requires when you sell a property from a foreign country and try to bring the money to the states.

If we do have to pay taxes on it, has anyone worked with a 1031 exchange intermediary that they might recommend to help us with this process?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Ryan