International buyers appear to be pulling back from their recent home buying sprees in the United States. According to the National Association of REALTORS® International sales in the U.S. totaled $121 billion from April 2017 to March 2018, a 20 percent decline from a year ago.
Foreign buyers and recent immigrants accounted for 8 percent of existing home sales, a decrease from 10 percent during the 12-month period that ended March 2017, according to NAR’s 2018 Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate.
“Inventory shortages continue to drive up prices, and sustained job creation and historically low interest rates mean that foreign buyers are now competing with domestic residents for the same, limited supply of homes.”
Five countries comprised nearly half—49 percent—of the dollar volume of purchases by foreign buyers: China, Canada, India, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. China.
The highest amount of foreign buying activity in the U.S. continues to be centered on three states: Florida (19 percent); California (14 percent); and Texas (9 percent).
Source: “2018 Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate,” National Association of REALTORS(R) (July 26, 2018)