According to a recent report, the top five countries whose citizens purchase real estate in the United States are China, Canada, Mexico, India, and the United Kingdom. Among these, Chinese buyers continue to be the largest foreign investment group in the American residential real estate market in terms of both total value and number of purchases.
On Monday, July 14th, the National Association of Realtors (NAR®) released the “2025 U.S. Residential Real Estate International Transactions Report,” revealing that from April 2024 to March 2025, foreign buyers purchased $56 billion worth of existing U.S. homes. This number represents a 33.2% increase from the previous year. International buyers acquired 78,100 properties, marking a 44% growth compared to the previous year, the first year-over-year increase since 2017. The median purchase price for foreign buyers reached $494,400, hitting a new record high.
New immigrants residing in the U.S. or foreign buyers holding U.S. residency visas purchased 43,700 homes (56% of all foreign buyers), totaling $26.9 billion. Foreign buyers living overseas purchased 34,400 homes (44% of all foreign buyers), totaling $29.1 billion.
According to the NAR report, from April 2024 to March of this year, buyers from China acquired $13.7 billion worth of U.S. real estate, marking an 83% year-on-year increase.
Data indicates that Chinese buyers are not deterred by geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. or tightening visa policies. Following years of increased regulatory pressures on private enterprises by the Chinese government, the investment environment in mainland China has deteriorated. As a result, Chinese investors are actively seeking overseas assets to hedge against the impact of China’s economic slowdown.
Bloomberg reported that Kashif Ansari, co-founder and CEO of Juwai IQI, stated that Chinese buyers are “more likely to pay in full with cash than any other buyer group.” He further added that due to comparatively higher yields and better market regulation in the U.S., it is considered a safe haven for real estate investment.
NAR data also shows that California remains the top choice for Chinese buyers, attracting 36% of buyers, followed by Maryland and New York, each with 9%. About 66% of buyers mentioned that these properties are intended for personal use, including primary residences, student apartments, or vacation homes.
In terms of the number of properties purchased, China has once again become the top country of origin for foreign buyers, accounting for 15% of all homes purchased by international buyers. Regarding the total value of homes purchased, China still ranks highest among all foreign buyers, with a median purchase price of $760,000 and an average price of $1.2 million. However, their total spending remains below the peak of $31.7 billion in 2017.
Overall, the top five states most appealing to foreign buyers and their proportions are as follows:
– Florida: 21%
– California: 15%
– Texas: 10%
– New York: 7%
– Arizona: 5%