U.S. home purchases by foreign buyers have dropped to the lowest point in more than a decade.
But Texas remains one of the top locations for offshore homebuyers.
Foreign buyers grabbed 154,000 U.S. residential properties in the year ending in March, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.
The Realtors report mostly reflects market data before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.
Nationwide foreign home buys totaled $74 billion in the most recent annual study, but were down 16% in number from the previous year.
U.S. residential property buys by foreigners have fallen by more than 45% since 2017 because of changing economic and immigration conditions.
Higher home prices and a shortage of housing inventory in many major markets are also an issue.
"Foreign buyers and recent immigrants have become less of a force in the U.S. housing market over the last couple of years," Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in the report. "A lack of housing inventory, the primary factor hindering domestic buyers, is also holding back some foreign buyers.
"Additionally, less cross-border travel, falling international trade and fewer foreign students attending American universities are impacting foreign homebuyers."
Texas ranked third in the country for foreign buyers in the most recent study, behind Florida and California.
About 9% of the total foreign home buys in the U.S. were in the Lone Star State.
The majority of purchases of Texas homes were by residents of Latin America and Asia, the Realtors association found.
Most of the U.S. out-of-country buyers hailing from Mexico bought in Texas. And Texas also was a popular market for Brazilian and Indian buyers.
Nationwide, the largest investment in housing in the last year was by Chinese buyers who spent more than $11.5 billion in properties.
The dollar value of Chinese home purchases in the U.S. has plunged from a high of $31.7 billion in 2017.
Canadians were the next most common offshore customers during the last year with $9.5 billion in purchases followed by Mexican buyers who took $5.8 billion in U.S. housing.
Almost 40% of the home purchases by foreign buyers were all-cash deals.
Foreign buyers most often acquired U.S. houses for a primary residence, a vacation home or to use as a rental property.
More than 60% of the buyers were recent immigrants or visa holders.
The median price of properties offshore buyers acquired was $314,600, 15% higher than the U.S. median price, according to the Realtors.
"In the upcoming year, better opportunities may become available for foreign buyers in large U.S. cities like New York and San Francisco," said Yun. "New patterns of domestic migration are trending away from expensive cities to more affordable suburbs and small communities because of the pandemic and greater work-from-home possibilities."
