posted Aug 24, 2017, 6:50 AM
By: Sabrina Orlov • InvestUSA360
Fueled by a substantial increase in sales dollar volume from Canadian buyers, foreign investment in U.S. residential real estate skyrocketed to a new high, as transactions grew in each of the top five countries where buyers originated.
This is according to an annual survey of residential purchases from international buyers released by the National Association of Realtors, which also revealed that nearly half of all foreign sales were in three states: Florida, California and Texas.
NAR’s 2017 Profile of International Activity in US Residential Real Estate, found that between April 2016 and March 2017, foreign buyers and recent immigrants purchased $153 billion of residential property, which is a 49 percent jump from 2016 ($102.6 billion) and surpasses 2015 ($103.9 billion) as the new survey high1. Overall, 284,455 U.S. properties were bought by foreign buyers (up 32 percent from 2016), and purchases accounted for 10 percent of the dollar volume of existing-home sales (7 percent in 2016).
While China is still the top buyer of U.S. residential real estate, Canada accounted for the most growth in the past year, from $8.9 billion in 2016 to $19 billion in 2017. Key takeaways from the report:
- Sales dollar volume: $153.0 billion – up 49% from 2016 ($102.6 billion); all-time survey high (since 2009)
- Total transactions: 284,455 – up 32% from 2016 (208,947)
- Top countries: China ($31.7B); Canada ($19.0B); U.K. ($9.5B); Mexico ($9.3B); India ($7.8B) – All five countries saw increases from the 2016 survey
- Median sales price: $302,290; up 9.0% from 2016 ($277,389) – 28% higher than US national median price of $277,389 – Approx. 10% of all buyers paid over $1M; 44% paid all cash (50% in 2016)
- Top states: Florida (22%), California (12%), Texas (12%), New Jersey and Arizona (4%)
- International Clients: 29% of realtors worked with international clients (31% in 2016) – Referrals/personal or business contacts accounted for 64% of international client business
Read the full report, press release, and infographic here.