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The National Association of Realtors reported that foreign buyers purchased $42 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2023 through March 2024, a decline of 21.2% from the year before.
International buyers purchased 54,300 properties, down 36% from the previous year and the fewest number of homes bought since 2009, when NAR began tracking the data. Overall, U.S. existing home sales totaled 4.09 million in 2023, down 18.7% from 2022 and the lowest level since 1995.
“The strong U.S. dollar makes international travel cheaper for Americans but makes U.S. homes much more expensive for foreigners,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a news release. “Therefore, it’s not surprising to see a pullback in U.S. home sales from foreign buyers.”
A survey by NAR showed that foreign buyers who lived in the U.S. as recent immigrants or who hold visas purchased $22.6 billion worth of U.S. existing homes—a 3.4% decline from the previous recorded year. These sales represent 54% of the dollar volume of purchases.
Foreign buyers who lived abroad purchased $19.4 billion worth of existing homes, down 35% from the year before and accounting for 46% of the dollar volume.
The report surveyed members about transactions with international clients who purchased and sold U.S. residential property from April 2023 through March 2024. International buyers accounted for 2% of the $2.1 trillion in total U.S. existing-home sales during that period.
The average ($780,300) and median ($475,000) existing-home sales prices among international buyers were the highest ever recorded by NAR – and 21.9% and 19.8% higher than the prior year. The price increase for foreign buyers reflected the overall price increase for all U.S. existing homes, which climbed to $392,600. In total, 18% of international buyers purchased properties worth more than $1 million from April 2023 to March 2024.
At $1.3 million, Chinese buyers had the highest average purchase price, with 25% purchasing property in California. Canada led all countries of origin in the share of foreign buyer purchases of U.S. existing homes at 13%, followed by China and Mexico (11% each) and India (10%). China was first in U.S. residential sales dollar volume at $7.5 billion, continuing a trend from 2013. Canada ($5.9 billion), India ($4.1 billion), Mexico ($2.8 billion), and Colombia ($0.7 billion) rounded out the top five.
For the 16th consecutive year, Florida remained the top destination for foreign buyers, accounting for 20% of all international purchases. Texas (13%) and California (11%) were second and third, respectively, followed by Arizona (5%), Georgia, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina (4% each).
Half of international buyer transactions were cash sales compared to 28% of all existing home buyers. Non-resident foreign buyers (68%) were likelier to make an all-cash purchase than resident foreign buyers (36%). More than two-thirds of Canadian (69%) and Chinese (68%) buyers made all-cash purchases, the highest shares among the top foreign buyer nations.
“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, in the news release. “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. NAR and the Realtor® brand have developed a network of more than 8,000 international Realtor® members outside of the USA and expanded our global footprint to more than 100 real estate organizations across 78 countries, providing growth opportunities by ensuring ethical and accessible markets that allow our members to make direct connections with global-minded real estate professionals and international investors.”
