Get Quartz in your inbox

Free daily briefing on global business news.

Buyers from these 5 countries are snapping up the most U.S. homes

Foreign buyers have pulled back from the U.S. housing market. NAR data shows which five nations led purchases of American real estate

Buyers from outside the United States have been a fixture of the American housing market for years, and over the past year their footprint shrank. Fewer international visitors came to the country, and people who stop traveling to a place stop shopping for homes in it. Foreign buyers also held a bit more purchasing power than they'd had a year earlier, since the dollar weakened slightly, and the discount still didn't bring them to the closing table. Steep asking prices and thin inventory mattered more to their decisions than currency did. Sellers in the handful of states where overseas money concentrates are now working with a smaller pool of bidders than they had a year ago.

Foreign buyers closed on 67,100 U.S. existing homes between April 2025 and March 2026, down 14% from 78,100 the year before. Only one other 12-month stretch since 2009 has produced fewer sales to international clients. The dollars fell faster than the sales count, with $45.3 billion spent against $56 billion a year earlier, a drop of 19.1%. The typical international purchase came in at $465,000, and 48% of those deals were paid in cash, against 28% among existing-home buyers overall. Just over half the homes, 37,600 of them, went to recent immigrants and visa holders already living in the country, while buyers based abroad took 29,500. Among all foreign purchasers, 20% bought in Florida, 19% in California, and 12% in Texas.

The National Association of REALTORS® has surveyed its members about deals with international clients every year since 2009, and its 2026 report covers the window from April 2025 through March 2026. Lawrence Yun, the group's chief economist, tied the slide in purchases to the broader falloff in travel to the United States, and he noted that the cheaper dollar didn't spark more activity. Yun drew a distinction between the number of homes bought and the money spent, crediting the two nations that share a land border with the U.S. for the heaviest unit counts and Chinese buyers, who favored higher-priced California properties, for the largest dollar total. Five countries of origin account for the bulk of what international clients bought.

Canadians bought 10,700 U.S. existing homes in the 12 months ending in March 2026, more than buyers from any other country, and their 16% share of all international purchases rose from 14% a year earlier. Canada gained ground in a shrinking market, since foreign buying overall fell 14% in units and 19.1% in dollars over the same stretch. The National Association of REALTORS®, which surveys its members each year about deals with international clients, ranked Canada first by country of origin after Chinese buyers led the previous year.

Canadians spent $5.2........

© Quartz