Profile of International Activity in U.S. Residential Real Estate (2019)
A decline in global growth and low housing inventory contributed to a drop in foreign investment in U.S. residential real estate over the past year.This is according to an annual survey of residential purchases from international buyers, released today by the National Association of Realtors®, which found that foreign buyers purchased fewer U.S. existing homes from April 2018 through March 2019. Global economic growth, which increased in 2016 to 2017, slowed to 3.6% in 2018 and is on pace to taper to 3.3% in 2019.
NAR’s Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate 2019 revealed that foreign buyers purchased $77.9 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from the 2019 survey reference period, a 36% decline from the level reached in the previous 12 months ($121 billion). Non-resident foreign buyers accounted for $33.2 billion of U.S. existing-home sales, a 37% decline from the prior level of $53 billion. Resident foreign buyers – that is, recent immigrants – purchased $44.7 billion of residential property, a 34% drop from the prior level ($67.9 billion). The dollar volume of purchases saw a decline as the number of purchases, as well as the average price, decreased from the previous year, as foreign buyers purchased in comparison to the levels during the previous 12 months. Foreign buyers were able to buy 183,100 properties (266,800 in the previous period) at an average price of $426,100. |
We live in a global marketplace. While all real estate is local, not all property buyers are. A significant share of home purchases are made by people whose primary residence is outside of the U.S. Find out which are the top five countries of origin for foreign buyers of U.S. homes, and how these buyers are using the services of REALTORS®. This year's Profile examines purchases of real estate in the United States by international clients for the twelve-month period ending in March 2016.
Highlights
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Highlights
- Foreign buyers purchased $102.6 billion of residential property from April 2015–March 2016, a decrease from $103.9 billion in the previous 12-month period.
- Foreign buyers purchased 214,885 residential properties, an approximately three percent increase from 208,947 in the previous 12-month period.
- Foreign buyers typically purchase more expensive properties.
- Although foreigners purchased property nationwide, five states accounted for 51 percent of total residential property purchases: Florida (22 percent), California (15 percent), Texas (10 percent), Arizona (four percent), and New York (four percent).
PowerPoint Presentation Download the PowerPoint presentation about the Profile of International Home Buying Activity.