Member-only story
Here’s one factor finally working in favor of U.S. homebuyers: You’re no longer competing with foreign buyers.
Activity from international buyers has plunged, the National Association of Realtors reports. NAR’s new International Profile of International Transactions in Residential Real Estate shows just 54,300 purchases of existing homes by foreign nationals during the April 2023-March 2024 period. That was off from 84,600 the previous year and way below the pre-pandemic peak of 284,500 sales in the year ending March 2017.
In terms of dollar volume, foreigners spent $42 billion in the latest year, off from $53 billion the previous year and the 2017 peak of $153 billion.
“The strong U.S. dollar makes international travel cheaper for Americans but makes U.S. homes much more expensive for foreigners,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “Therefore, it’s not surprising to see a pullback in U.S. home sales from foreign buyers.”
The typical foreign buyer paid $475,000. International buyers focus on a handful of states — Florida accounted for 20 percent of all international transactions, followed by Texas (13 percent), California (11 percent), Arizona (5 percent) and Georgia (4 percent). In other words, more than half of international buyers landed in just five states. New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Illinois also are common destinations for foreign buyers.
