Purchases of U.S. homes by international buyers plunged over the past year, reflecting
International buyers made $42 billion worth of existing-home purchases from April 2023 to March 2024, a 21.2% decline from the prior 12 months,
The number of units bought fell at an even steeper 36% pace to 54,300, the fewest since NAR began tracking the data in 2009 and equaled 1.3% of the 4.06 million homes sold. Within the group, non-U.S. residents made up a 43% share, while 57% were recent immigrants or visa holders.
A healthy U.S. economy was one of the factors driving the downturn, according to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
"The strong U.S. dollar makes international travel cheaper for Americans but makes U.S. homes much more expensive for foreigners," he said in a press release. "Therefore, it's not surprising to see a pullback in U.S. home sales from foreign buyers."
The retreat led to a significantly larger decline in dollar volume among non-U.S. residents, who acquired $19.4 billion worth of homes, an annual contraction of 35%. By comparison, immigrants or holders of U.S. residence visas took a $22.6 billion share of purchases, a more muted 3.4% drop.
Still, foreign buyers were more likely to shop for homes in the higher end of the market, with the median price of properties they purchased came in at $475,000, which was 21% more than $392,600 reported for overall existing-home sales.
A 45% share — near equal to the portion of properties bought by nonresidents — planned to
Foreign buyers also showed a higher tendency to pay with cash up front. All-cash transactions made up 50% of foreign purchases, compared to 28% across the market.
The slowdown in the international-purchase market showed it was not immune from some of the same obstacles leading to
"Historically low housing inventory and escalating prices remain significant factors in constraining home sales for American and international buyers alike," Yun added.
NAR's data echoes findings about housing conditions from other real estate research groups.
Home sales in June came in 11.6% lower year over year and 7.2% under May's level, real estate company Remax said. The subdued purchase environment comes despite increasing inventory, which grew by almost 40% annually this spring.
Similarly, Zillow determined current home sales activity 35% below pre-pandemic norms.
Despite higher inventory, prices continue rising,
"A growing segment of homes that aren't competitively priced or well marketed are lingering on the market. Sellers are increasingly cutting prices to entice buyers struggling with affordability," said Skylar Olsen, chief economist at Zillow.
Nearly one-quarter, 24.5%, of listings saw a price cut last month, the highest share for any June dating back to 2018, according to Zillow's data. On the other hand, though, Remax saw homes selling, on average, at 100% of the full asking price this spring.
"For years, the housing market has been defined by fast sales and few options. Now it's starting to look more like it did before the pandemic in terms of competition, if not costs," Olsen added.
In the foreign-purchase segment, the largest share of buyers over the past year came from Canada with 13%, NAR's research found. Behind the U.S. neighbor to the north were China and Mexico at 11% each and India with 10%.
Chinese buyers, though, maintained their place atop the list in total dollar volume of purchases at $7.5 billion, leading all foreign countries each year over the past decade. Purchases from Canadian citizens accounted for $5.9 billion of volume, and Indian buyers made up $4.1 billion.
Florida was the top market for the international segment, landing in the top spot for the 16th year in a row. A 20% share of all foreign purchases went to properties in the Sunshine State, with Texas and California in second and third with 13% and 11%, respectively. Further behind was Arizona at 5%.
