Author bio section

I am the author of this blog and also a top-producing Loan Officer and CEO of InstaMortgage Inc, the fastest-growing mortgage company in America. All the advice is based on my experience of helping thousands of homebuyers and homeowners. We are a mortgage company and will help you with all your mortgage needs. Unlike lead generation websites, we do not sell your information to multiple lenders or third-party companies.

The majority of purchasers in the United States are still Americans but recently there has been a lot more competition.

According to National Association of Realtors recent report, in the time between April 2015 and March 2016, foreign investors purchased $102.6 billion worth of residential property and 214,855 properties. This was a slight decrease from the previous 12 month period where it had been $103.9 billion and 208,947 properties.

Who is Purchasing Property?

The countries that these investors live in that make up the bulk of the foreign investors include China, Canada, India, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. These five countries made up more than 50 percent of all international sales in 2016. In fact, they accounted for 51.3 percent with China leading the group with 26.7 percent.

Of course, there are many more countries investing in the United States right now but these are the main ones and have been for several years.

Where and Why Are They Purchasing

While you can find international investor deals happening in all states, there are some main ones that they tend to purchase in. The five main states that made up approximately 51 percent of international sales by location in 2016 include Florida, California, Texas, Arizona, and New York. These numbers only include residential property.

Some of the other key states that have a lot of international investment action include New Jersey, Illinois, North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia, Connecticut, Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, and Washington.

It appears that some of the main reasons that attribute to the specific locations in the United States include the location in terms of their home country, job and educational opportunities, climate, location, and the presence of friends, family, and even associates.  Buys in Florida and Arizona tend to be from Europe, Canada, and Latin America because they are looking for warmer, more vacation friendly, climates.

Asian buyers tend to purchase in New York and California because of job opportunities, similarities in the culture, and the geographic location. A lot of Latin America investors look to Texas because it is fairly close to their home country. In general, however, most investors are looking for residential property for rental purposes.

How Much Are They Paying?

While they may have reasons for choosing specific locations for their purchases, when it comes to price, they tend to pay more than traditional purchasers in the United States. The prices also vary depending on the region.

On average, they have paid more than the average price of all existing homes that are sold in the U.S. When looking at numbers, they have paid $477,462 on average but the average price in the U.S. is $266,683. Not only that, about 10 percent of all foreign investors paid more than $1 million for the property of their choosing.

When you look at the residential property that has been purchased by this group, the numbers are slightly different. For these types of properties, the median amount paid is $277,380 but the median for all homes sold during the same time period in the U.S. is only $223,058. From these numbers, they are paying more for these homes than the locals are in the area.

Foreign Buyers in US Real Estate

It does look like the investment numbers have been slightly decreasing over the past year but they are still very high. The majority of purchasers in the United States are still Americans but recently there has been a lot more competition.

Related Posts

  • 60
    In April 2017, the median price for single-family, re-sale homes in Santa Clara county climbed to $1.16 million, which is a new all-time high. The median price for condos/townhomes crossed $700,000 which too, is a new all-time high. Median price means half the homes sold for a higher price and…
    Tags: price, $, sold, homes, buyers, median, average, property, properties, uncategorized
  • 57
    Following three straight months of gains, existing–home sales dipped in August despite slowing price growth and a positive turnaround in the share of sales to first–time buyers, according to theNational Association of Realtors®. Total existing–home sales fell 4.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.31 million in August…
    Tags: percent, sales, price, buyers, $, uncategorized
  • 54
    Every month the National Association of Realtors (NAR®) tracks metrics key to the overall health of the housing market.  There are a number of important metrics you would want to pay attention to, if housing data analysis is in your wheelhouse, or if you are pondering your next housing move.…
    Tags: sales, percent, price, median, $, uncategorized
  • 50
    Growing concerns about weak economic growth and Fed's indication of delaying rate hikes, plummeted the mortgage rates to the lowest levels in 16 months. Mortgage Banker's Association (MBA) reported the decline in rates across the board in its latest weekly mortgage applications survey released today. See the results below. The…
    Tags: percent, average, uncategorized
  • 50
    Mortgage Rates made the biggest one week jump this year and is now at the highest level in over 4 months. As part of Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), Freddie Mac reported that the 30 Year Fixed rate is now at the highest levels since May 1, 2014. Based on the…
    Tags: time, uncategorized