International home buying hits a near-17-year low as spending falls $11 billion year over year
Foreign demand for US real estate has retreated to near-historic lows, with international buyers closing on just 67,100 existing homes from April 2025 through March 2026. That's a 14% decline year over year and the second-lowest transaction count since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) began tracking the metric in 2009.
Total spending fell to $45.3 billion, a drop of 19.1%, or roughly $11 billion, from the previous 12-month period, according to NAR's 2026 International Transactions in US Residential Real Estate report.
Despite the retreat in volume, international buyers continued to outspend their domestic counterparts. The median purchase price for foreign buyers came in at $465,000, well above the national overall median of $413,600, per NAR.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, Washington, D.C., connected the drop to broader shifts in US global engagement.
"The decline in foreign home buyer activity mirrors the decline in international visitors and tourists to the United States," Yun said.
"Even a slightly weaker US dollar over the past year, which provides more purchasing power for foreigners, did not induce more activity."
That finding aligns with US Census Bureau data showing the country added approximately 1.26 million residents through international immigration from July 2024 to July 2025, a period that included the first six months of President Donald Trump's second term.
Chen Zhao of Redfin says concerns around trade, employment, inflation, and the housing market are leading more Canadians to pause plans to purchase US property, extending the slowdown in cross-border home searches.https://t.co/lxNA4SjcoS
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) July 29, 2026
Canada reclaims the top spot as China's spending craters
Canada returned as the leading country of origin among foreign buyers, accounting for 16% of all international transactions. That's a trajectory Mortgage Professional America has tracked since tariffs and cross-border political tensions began reshaping Canadian homebuyer demand.
Mexico followed at 14%, while China, which had led the rankings a year earlier, slipped to third at 11%.
Chinese buyers remained the biggest spenders by dollar volume at $7.6 billion, though that figure marks a sharp fall from $13.7 billion the prior year, with an average purchase price of $1 million per property.
Florida attracted the largest share of all foreign buyers at 20%, with nearly half of that group being Canadian.
California ranked second at 19%, up from 15% the year before, drawing heavily from Chinese, Mexican, and British buyers. Texas followed at 12%.
Mortgage Professional America
Share of US foreign home purchases by country of origin
April 2025 – March 2026 · 67,100 total transactions recorded
Source: NAR 2026 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate · "Other" includes Italy, France, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, and all remaining buyer origins
What the retreat means for brokers
Loan officers and mortgage professionals serving cross-border clients should account for significant variation in how buyers intend to use their US properties.
Of all international purchases, 49% were for vacation, rental, or dual-purpose use, but intent diverges sharply by nationality.
Nearly 75% of Canadian buyers acquired vacation homes; 47% of Mexican buyers purchased primary residences; and 44% of Chinese buyers used US properties as primary residences.
As real estate investors continue to gain market share amid tight domestic inventory conditions, the foreign buyer retreat adds a further layer of complexity for brokers. Chen Zhao, head of economic research at Redfin, told MPA in prior coverage that while the national-level impact of Canadian demand shifts is modest, local markets feel it acutely.
"We should expect fewer sales and weaker price growth in the markets that see more activity from Canadian buyers," Zhao said.
The broader shift reflects what analysts have flagged as an emerging bifurcation in international home demand across US metro markets, with globally competitive Sun Belt cities pulling international interest while some legacy coastal markets lose ground.
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