Residential Real Estate News
Foreign Buyers Purchase $42 Billion of U.S. Homes in 2024, a 21 Percent Annual Decline
Florida remained the top destination for foreign buyers for 16th year in a row
According to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), foreign buyers spent $42 billion on U.S. existing homes between April 2023 and March 2024, a 21.2% decrease from the previous 12 months. During this period, international buyers purchased 54,300 properties, marking a 36% decline from the year before and the lowest level since 2009 when NAR began collecting this data. In total, U.S. existing-home sales reached 4.09 million in 2023, down 18.7% from 2022, and the lowest since 1995.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributed the decline to the strong U.S. dollar, which makes international travel cheaper for Americans but significantly increases the cost of U.S. homes for foreign buyers. "It's no surprise to see foreign buyers pulling back from U.S. home sales," Yun said.
NAR's 2024 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report, which surveyed real estate professionals about their dealings with international clients between April 2023 and March 2024, revealed that foreign buyers who lived in the U.S., either as recent immigrants or visa holders, purchased $22.6 billion worth of homes, a 3.4% drop from the previous year, accounting for 54% of the total dollar volume of international purchases. Meanwhile, foreign buyers residing abroad spent $19.4 billion on homes, a 35% decline, making up 46% of the dollar volume. International buyers represented just 2% of the $2.1 trillion in total U.S. existing-home sales during this time.
Yun also noted that both American and foreign buyers faced challenges due to low housing inventory and rising prices. The average home price among international buyers reached $780,300, and the median price hit $475,000, both the highest ever recorded by NAR. These figures reflect price increases across the U.S., where the average home price rose to $392,600. Chinese buyers had the highest average purchase price at $1.3 million, with 25% buying properties in California. Overall, 18% of international buyers bought homes valued at over $1 million during the period.
Canada led the list of countries with the most foreign buyers of U.S. homes, accounting for 13% of purchases, followed by China and Mexico at 11% each, and India at 10%. Chinese buyers led in terms of dollar volume, purchasing $7.5 billion in U.S. residential real estate, continuing a trend that started in 2013. Other top countries by purchase volume included Canada ($5.9 billion), India ($4.1 billion), Mexico ($2.8 billion), and Colombia ($0.7 billion).
Florida remained the top destination for foreign buyers for the 16th year in a row, making up 20% of all international purchases. Texas (13%) and California (11%) followed, with Arizona (5%), Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina (4% each) also popular destinations.
Cash transactions were prevalent among international buyers, with half of all sales being all-cash compared to 28% for all homebuyers. Non-resident foreign buyers were even more likely to pay in cash (68%) compared to resident foreign buyers (36%). Among the top foreign buyer countries, Canadians (69%) and Chinese (68%) had the highest shares of all-cash purchases.
