Foreign buyers purchased $56 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2024 through March 2025, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2025 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report. This is a 33.2 percent increase from the previous 12-month period.
International buyers purchased 78,100 properties, up 44 percent from the prior year and the first year-over-year increase since 2017. The median purchase price for foreign buyers of $494,400 was a record high.
“International interest in buying U.S. real estate increased following the global economic recovery from several years of pandemic-related disruptions. However, elevated home prices and interest rates continue to dampen overall potential sales activity and remain well below pre-pandemic levels,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a release. “Boosted by a significant increase in the state’s housing inventory, Florida remained the top destination for foreign home buyers, extending a streak of at least 15 years. To some degree, due to stubbornly high mortgage rates, a greater share of international homebuyers paid cash – 47 percent compared to 28 percent among all buyers – and they were more likely to purchase homes priced in the upper end of the market. Foreign buyers are drawn to investing in American real estate, in part, by our country’s strong protection of private property rights.”
For the report, NAR surveyed members about transactions with international clients who purchased and sold U.S. residential property from April 2024 through March 2025 – capturing data before new tariffs were announced in April 2025.
Foreign buyers who lived in the U.S. as recent immigrants or who were holding visas that allowed them to live in the U.S. purchased 43,700 homes (56 percent of all foreign purchases) with a total dollar volume of $26.9 billion. Foreign buyers who lived abroad purchased 34,400 homes (44 percent of all foreign purchases) with a total dollar volume of $29.1 billion.
The country with the highest percentage of purchases of U.S. homes is China with 15 percent. China has purchased 11,700 homes encompassing a total value of $13.7 billion. Rounding out the top five are Canada (14 percent, 10,900, $6.2 billion); Mexico (8 percent, 6,200, $4.4 billion); India: (6 percent, 4,700; $2.2 billion); and United Kingdom (4 percent, 3,100, $2 billion).
The top five U.S. destinations of foreign buyers were: Florida (favored by 21 percent of all foreign buyers); California (15 percent); Texas (10 percent); New York (7 percent); and Arizona: (5 percent).