Foreign Buyers Purchase Fewer U.S. Homes Last Year but Pay Highest-Ever Prices

International buyers purchased $42 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2023 through March 2024, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors®. That volume was a drop of 21.2% from the prior 12-month period. The highest dollar volume of existing-home purchases by foreign buyers occurred in 2017 when they spent $153 billion.

Measured by units, foreign buyers accounted for 54,300 transactions, which marked a decline of 36% from the previous year and the fewest number of homes they bought since 2009 when NAR began measuring the international component of residential sales. The highest number of existing-home purchases (284.5 million) was in 2017.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said he was not surprised to see a pullback by foreign buyers. "Historically low housing inventory and escalating prices remain significant factors in constraining home sales for American and international buyers alike," he stated.

International buyers paid the highest ever average price ($780,300) and median price ($475,000) according to NAR data. Of their purchases during the latest reporting period, 18% of properties sold for more than $1 million.

All-cash sales accounted for half the international buyer transactions. That compares to 28% of all existing-home buyers. More than two-thirds of Canadian (69%) and Chinese (68%) buyers paid all-cash.

Canadians accounted for the largest share (13%) of foreign buyers, followed by China and Mexico with 11% each, India (10%) and Colombia (4%). Together, these countries’ purchases totaled $21 billion.

Florida claimed 20% of the transactions to lead the list of states as preferred locations for international purchases, retaining its top position for the 16^th consecutive year. It was followed by Texas (13%), California (11%), and Arizona (5%). Four states—Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina—had 4% each. Illinois (3%) and Michigan (2%) rounded out the list of top 10 states.

In other key findings, NAR reported that:

• 57% were foreign buyers who live in the United States (recent immigrants; less than two years at the time of the transaction) or non-immigrant visa holders (Type B).
• 45% of foreign buyers purchased a property for use as a vacation home, rental, or both (compared to 16% among all existing-home buyers).
• 76% of foreign buyers bought a detached single-family home or townhome (compared to 90% of all existing-home buyers).
• 45% of foreign buyers purchased in a suburban area (similar to 47% among all existing-home buyers).
• 23% of foreign buyers who live abroad opted to purchase condominiums, while only 10% of foreign buyers who live in the U.S. did so.

NAR’s 2024 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report may be downloaded as a 33-page PDF. The report is based on an online survey that was conducted from April 4 to May 19, 2024 that was sent to 150,000 randomly selected REALTORS®.

NAR maintains formal relationships with more than 100 organized real estate associations in over 75 countries, along with a network of more than 8,000 international REALTOR® members. Approximately 3,500 professionals have the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation.

"Fostering economic investment in culturally dynamic communities, businesses, and industries is a top priority for NAR," said Alex Escudero, NAR's director of global strategy. "Our work provides members and their communities with tools, resources and data to identify and highlight international investment opportunities in U.S. real estate. This supports local communities to drive economic development in markets across the country.