Chinese nationals top list of foreigners buying homes in US, spending surges 83%

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Of the 78,100 existing homes bought by foreign buyers in US, Chinese buyers purchased 11,700, making up 15% of all foreign buyers, followed by Canada (14%), Mexico (8%), India (6%), and the United Kingdom (4%). read more
Chinese nationals led foreign purchases of US homes over the past year, with their spending surging 83 per cent from 2024, according to a new National Association of Realtors (NAR) report.
NAR's latest report on international transactions in US residential real estate revealed that Chinese buyers accounted for $13.7 billion of the $56 billion spent by foreign buyers in the country's housing market from April 2024 to March 2025.
This was more than double their $7.5 billion investment from the previous year and slightly higher than the $13.6 billion spent in 2024.
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Of the 78,100 existing homes bought by foreign buyers, Chinese buyers purchased 11,700, making up 15 per cent of all foreign buyers, followed by Canada (14 per cent), Mexico (8 per cent), India (6 per cent), and the United Kingdom (4 per cent).
Among the top five foreign buyer groups, Chinese buyers paid the highest average purchase price, at $1,168,800, with a median of $759,600, per NAR.
Crisis in China's real estate to blame?
Matt Christopherson, NAR's director of Business and Consumer Research, attributes this surge partly to China's real estate crisis.
China's property sector, once accounting for 25 per cent of the nation's GDP and 38 per cent of Beijing's government revenue, fueled decades of economic growth.
However, excessive borrowing and speculation led to a collapse, with Evergrande's 2021 debt default and subsequent defaults by developers like Country Garden destabilising the market.
Christopherson suggests these domestic challenges are pushing Chinese buyers to seek alternative investments abroad.
'The Chinese housing market has been slow to recover following the pandemic, so Chinese buyers see a beneficial opportunity in diversifying their investment portfolios with exposure to stronger U.S. markets,' Christopherson was quoted as saying by Newsweek.
'China's continued investments in US mortgage-backed securities further show their interest and confidence in the American markets. Investment buyers from China find strong cash flow investment opportunities with residential rentals, as our affordability shortcomings are putting upward pressure on rental demands,' he said.
'Additionally, Chinese students more often purchase housing during their studies, with nearly one-fifth of Chinese buyers purchasing for this use.'
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The NAR report, covering April 2024 to March 2025, predates President Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs against China, which has sparked tensions in US-China trade relations.