Map Shows Where Foreign Citizens Are Buying Up U.S. Homes

Newsweek

2 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Despite longstanding affordability issues and growing uncertainty, foreign buyers have flocked back to the U.S. housing market over the last year, snapping up $56 billion worth of American homes between April 2024 and March 2025, new figures show.
It is the first time that international buyer demand has risen in eight years, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which shared the figures in its newly released 2025 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report.
The increase represents a dramatic shift from the declines observed in recent years, which suggested that foreign buyers were exiting the U.S. housing market. Between April 2023 and March 2024, foreign buyers invested $42 billion in residential purchases in the country—about 33 percent less than in the previous year.
Over the past year, however, foreign buyers bought up 78,100 existing homes in the U.S. market, 44 percent up on a year earlier. While that is a significant increase, annual sales overall were the second-lowest since NAR began tracking such data in 2009.
"International interest in buying U.S. real estate increased following the global economic recovery from several years of pandemic-related disruptions," NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun said, commenting on the latest data. "However, elevated home prices and interest rates continue to dampen overall sales activity."
Florida Leading The Way
The Sunshine State continues to be the most attractive destination for a majority of foreign buyers, according to the report, accounting for more than one in five (21 percent) of international purchases.
This is nothing new for Florida, which has been the most popular destination for foreign buyers in the U.S. for some 15 years thanks to its sunny weather, relaxed lifestyle and favorable tax policies. But a recent surge in housing inventory in the state, supported by a boom in construction, has made it even more appealing to buyers, Yun said, as local buyers pulled back due to ongoing affordability challenges.
California is a close second, drawing 15 percent of all foreign buyers' purchases in the country. The Golden State overtook Texas as the second-most popular destination for foreign buyers, and between April 2024 and March 2025 it accounted for 10 percent of foreign buyers' purchases.
New York followed with 7 percent of all foreign buyers' purchases and Arizona with 5 percent.
Who Is Buying?
The biggest share of foreign buyers purchasing homes in the U.S. over the last year came from China (15 percent; spending $13.7 billion), followed by Canada (14 percent; $6.2 billion), Mexico (8 percent; $4.4 billion), India (6 percent; $2.2 billion) and the United Kingdom (4 percent; $2.0 billion). Some 56 percent of foreign buyers, overall, are U.S. residents.
The preferred destination for Chinese buyers, according to NAR's report, was California (which accounted for 36 percent of all purchases from Chinese buyers). For Canadian and British buyers, it was Florida (48 percent and 45 percent respectively). For buyers from both Mexico and India, Texas was the top choice (40 percent and 13 percent respectively).
Nearly half of all foreign buyers (47 percent) paid all-cash—significantly more than the 28% of overall sales that were all-cash purchases. Foreign buyers also paid more per property, on average. The median purchase price among foreign buyers was $494,400—higher than the median price of $408,500 paid for existing homes sold in the U.S. from April 2024 to March 2025 and the median purchase price the prior year.
That is likely because foreign buyers can afford to spend a little more, and prefer to buy generally more expensive properties in more central locations, analysts suggest.