Foreign homebuyers are coming back to the U.S. in a big way, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The association found that foreign buyers bought $56 billion worth of existing homes in the U.S. between April 2024 and March 2025. That is a 33.2% increase from the previous 12-month period. International buyers bought a total of 78,100 properties, an increase of 44% from the year before when 54,300 properties were purchased. It was also the first year-over-year increase since 2017.
NAR found that the median purchase price for foreign buyers during the 12-month period ending in March reached a record high of $494,400, up 4.1% from $475,000 during the previous 12-month period.
The information came from NAR’s 2025 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report, which surveyed members about transactions with international clients who purchased and sold U.S. residential properties from April 2024 through March 2025. The report’s data was gathered before new tariffs were announced in April of this year.
Those from other countries who reside in the U.S. as recent immigrants or who were holding visas that allowed them to live in the U.S. accounted for 43,700 of all foreign purchases, or 56%, worth $26.9 billion. Foreign buyers who live abroad purchased 34,400 homes, 44% of the total, worth $29.1 billion.
Buyers originally from China accounted for 15% of the purchases. They bought 11,700 homes for a total cost of $13.7 billion. Canadian buyers made up the next largest group, accounting for 14% of foreign home purchases, or 10,900 properties, for a cost of $6.2 billion. The third-largest group was from Mexico, which accounted for 8% of foreign purchases, followed by India (6%) and the United Kingdom (4%).
Florida residential properties were the most popular, accounting for 21% of homes purchased by foreign buyers. California was next, accounting for 15% of the homes purchased by foreign buyers. The Golden State was followed by Texas (10%), New York (7%) and Arizona (5%).
International interest in buying U.S. real estate has increased during the global economic recovery that followed the pandemic, said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a statement. But elevated home prices and high interest rates are dampening overall potential sales activity, which remain below pre-pandemic levels.
“Boosted by a significant increase in the state’s housing inventory, Florida remained the top destination for foreign homebuyers, extending a streak of at least 15 years,” Yun said. “To some degree, due to stubbornly high mortgage rates, a greater share of international homebuyers paid cash — 47% compared to 28% among all buyers — and they were more likely to purchase homes priced in the upper end of the market.”
Yun added: “Foreign buyers are drawn to investing in American real estate, in part, by our country’s strong protection of private property rights.”
Yuval Golan, founder and CEO of Miami-based fintech company Waltz, said in a statement provided to Scotsman Guide that the large percentage of international homebuyers who paid cash suggests many of them may have had trouble securing financing.
“There isn’t a demand problem,” Golan said. “It’s an access problem.” He added that if mortgages were easier to obtain for foreign buyers, the amount of international investment could increase significantly.
