US Home Purchases By Foreign Buyers Rise for First Time in Eight Years

International buyers bought 44% more homes across the US in the last year, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). It's the first year-over-year increase in eight years.

The Details: The report showed that from April 2024 to March 2025, foreign buyers purchased $56 billion in existing US homes, totaling 78,100 properties. Fifty-six percent of foreign buyers were recent immigrants or non-immigrant visa holders. Chinese buyers made up the largest number of foreign investors in US residential real estate (15%), spending $13.7 billion on homes between April 2024 and March 2025—an 83% increase from the previous year. They were followed by buyers from Canada (14%), Mexico (8%), and India (6%). The five states with the most international buyers were Florida (21%), California (15%), Texas (10%), New York (7%) and Arizona (5%). 

For Context: While no single federal law completely prohibits foreign home ownership in the US, 22 states between January 2023 and July 2024 enacted legislation regulating foreign ownership of real property. 

How the Media Covered It: An analysis in The American Spectator (Right bias) raised concerns about the percentage of Chinese buyers. It said the purchases were a “strategic territorial acquisition by a hostile communist regime” that seeks to harvest and exploit American soil. It framed Chinese real estate purchases in the US as rewarding an authoritarian regime while worsening America’s housing affordability crisis. Bloomberg (Lean Left) emphasized the impact of elevated mortgage rates and home prices on domestic home buyers, saying US citizens have been “sidelined” in the housing market due to President Trump’s economic policies. It simultaneously framed foreign interest in US real estate as a hopeful sign that Trump’s trade and immigration policies haven’t discouraged international buyers. Newsweek (Center) framed the increase in foreign buyer interest positively, and highlighted top locations for home buyers.

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