Foreign buyers purchased $53.3 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2022 through March 2023, slipping 9.6% from the previous 12-month period, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors^®. Foreign buyers purchased 84,600 properties, down 14.2% from the prior year and the fewest number of homes bought since 2009, when NAR began tracking this data. Overall, U.S. existing-home sales totaled 5.03 million in 2022, down 17.8% from 2021.

“Sharply lower housing inventory in the U.S. and higher borrowing costs across the world have dented international buyers for two straight years,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “However, recovering international travel following the end of the pandemic will bring more foreign transactions in coming months and years.”

NAR’s 2023 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report surveyed members about transactions with international clients who purchased and sold U.S. residential property from April 2022 through March 2023. Foreign buyers who resided in the U.S. as recent immigrants or who were holding visas that allowed them to live in the U.S. purchased $23.4 billion worth of U.S. existing homes, a 31.4% decrease from the prior year and representing 44% of the dollar volume of purchases. Foreign buyers who lived abroad purchased $29.9 billion worth of existing homes, up 20% from the 12 months prior and accounting for 56% of the dollar volume. International buyers accounted for 2.3% of the $2.3 trillion in existing-home sales during that period.

The average ($639,900) and median ($396,400) existing-home sales prices among international buyers were the highest ever recorded by NAR – and 7% and 8.3% higher, respectively, than the previous year. The increase in prices for foreign buyers reflects the increase in U.S. home prices, as the median sales price for all U.S. existing homes was $384,200. At $1.23 million, Chinese buyers had the highest average purchase price, with a third – 33% – purchasing property in California. In total, 15% percent of foreign buyers purchased properties worth more than $1 million from April 2022 to March 2023.

China and Canada remained first and second in U.S. residential sales dollar volume at $13.6 billion and $6.6 billion, respectively, continuing a trend going back to 2013. Mexico ($4.2 billion), India ($3.4 billion) and Colombia ($0.9 billion) rounded out the top five.

“Home purchases from Chinese buyers increased after China relaxed the world’s strictest pandemic lockdown policy, while buyers from India were helped by the country’s strong GDP growth,” Yun added. “A stronger Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar likely contributed to the rise in sales from Mexican buyers.”

For the 15^th consecutive year, Florida remained the top destination for foreign buyers, accounting for 23% of all international purchases. California and Texas tied for second (12% each), followed by North Carolina, Arizona and Illinois (4% each).

“Florida, Texas and Arizona continue to attract foreign buyers despite the hot weather conditions during the summer and the significant spike in home prices that began a few years ago,” Yun said.

All-cash sales accounted for 42% of international buyer transactions compared to 26% of all existing-home buyers. Non-resident foreign buyers (52%) were more likely to make an all-cash purchase than resident foreign buyers (32%). Two-thirds of Colombian buyers (67%) made all-cash purchases, the highest share among the top five foreign buyer nations. Approximately half of Canadian (51%) and Chinese (47%) buyers made all-cash purchases. Asian Indian buyers were the least likely to pay all cash, at just 15%.

Half of foreign buyers purchased their property for use as a vacation home, rental property, or both – up from 44% the previous year. Almost three out of five international buyers (59%) purchased detached, single-family homes.

“Fostering economic investment in culturally dynamic communities, businesses, and industry is a top priority for NAR,” said Charlie Dawson, NAR’s vice president of engagement and advocacy outreach. "Our work across the country provides members and their communities with tools, resources and data to identify and highlight international investment opportunities in U.S. real estate. This acts as a key pillar in our efforts to further support local communities to drive economic development in markets across the country. NAR and the Realtor^® brand has developed a network of partnerships with over 100 real estate organizations across 77 countries providing growth opportunities by ensuring ethical and accessible markets that allow our members to make direct connections with global real estate professionals and international investors.”

View the full 2023 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report at: nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/international-transactions-in-u-s-residential-real-estate.

The National Association of Realtors^® is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.5 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. The term Realtor^® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of Realtors^® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

A lack of homes for sale is pushing prices up. Inventory posted its biggest decline in 18 months as homeowners cling to relatively low mortgage rates.

The typical U.S. home sold for roughly $382,000 during the four weeks ending July 23, up 2.6% from a year earlier, the biggest increase since November. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage.

Still, homebuyers are getting a bit of relief as mortgage rates inch down from the eight-month high hit a few weeks ago. The typical monthly mortgage payment is $2,599 at today’s average weekly rate, down $55 from the all-time high of $2,654 in early July.

Today’s housing market is unusual because prices are increasing despite lukewarm demand. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—a measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents—is down 3% from a year ago, and mortgage-purchase applications are down about 23%. But inventory has dropped more than demand, with homeowners hanging onto their comparatively low mortgage rates, which is sending prices up. New listings are down 22% from a year ago, and the total number of homes for sale is down 17%, the biggest decline in a year and a half. Pending sales are down 15%, partly because the lack of inventory is tying potential homebuyers’ hands.

This week’s news that the Fed is no longer forecasting a broad economic recession is hopeful for the housing market, despite the simultaneous interest-rate hike. The Fed indicated that a soft landing is more likely than they had previously thought, which would mean interest rates went high enough to tame inflation but not enough to cause a surge in unemployment and send the economy into a recession.

“This is hopeful news for the housing market in a few ways,” said Redfin Economic Research Lead Chen Zhao. “Avoiding a recession means Americans will hold onto their jobs, for the most part, and feel more confident about purchasing big-ticket items like a house. Steady progress on taming inflation means that while mortgage rates will probably stay elevated for at least a few months, they’re likely to start coming down before the end of the year. That should encourage some sellers and buyers to jump into the market.”

Leading indicators of homebuying activity:

• The daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.95% on July 26, up slightly from a week earlier. For the week ending July 20, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.78%, down from a half-year high a week earlier.
• Mortgage-purchase applications during the week ending July 21 declined 3% from a week earlier, seasonally adjusted. Purchase applications were down 23% from a year earlier.
• The seasonally adjusted Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index was down 3% from a year earlier, the first decline after eight straight weeks of increases.
• Google searches for “homes for sale” were up essentially flat from a month earlier during the week ending July 22, and down about 6% from a year earlier.
• Touring activity as of July 23 was up 11% from the start of the year, compared with a 4% decrease at the same time last year, according to home tour technology company ShowingTime.

Key housing market takeaways for 400+ U.S. metro areas:

Unless otherwise noted, this data covers the four-week period ending July 23. Redfin’s weekly housing market data goes back through 2015. For bullets that include metro-level breakdowns, Redfin analyzed the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy.

• The median home sale price was $381,750, up 2.6% from a year earlier. That’s the biggest increase since November.
• Sale prices increased most in Miami (11.9% YoY), Milwaukee (9.3%), Cincinnati (8.9%), Anaheim, CA (8.3%) and West Palm Beach, FL (7.4%).
• Home-sale prices declined in 20 metros, with the biggest drops in Austin, TX (-8.8% YoY), Detroit (-6.4%), Phoenix (-4.7%), Las Vegas (-3.9%) and Sacramento (-3.8%).
• The median asking price of newly listed homes was $390,088, up 2.4% from a year earlier. That’s the biggest increase since January.
• The monthly mortgage payment on the median-asking-price home was $2,599 at a 6.78% mortgage rate, the average for the week ending July 20. That’s down about 2% from the record high hit two weeks earlier, but up 16% from a year earlier.
• Pending home sales were down 14.8% year over year, continuing a year-plus streak of double-digit declines.
• Pending home sales fell in all but two of the metros Redfin analyzed. They declined most in New Brunswick, NJ (-32.7% YoY), Newark, NJ (-32.1%), Providence, RI (-27.8%), Warren, MI (-27%) and Boston (-25.4%). They increased 2.7% in Las Vegas and 1.4% in Austin.
• New listings of homes for sale fell 21.6% year over year. That’s a substantial decline, but the smallest in nearly three months.
• New listings declined in all metros Redfin analyzed. They fell most in Las Vegas (-45.2% YoY), Phoenix (-38.9%), Newark, NJ (-34.3%), Providence, RI (-32.9%) and New Brunswick, NJ (-31.7%).
• Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) dropped 16.9% from a year earlier, the biggest drop since February 2022. Active listings were down slightly from a month earlier; typically, they post month-over-month increases at this time of year.
• Months of supply was 2.8 months, the highest level since March. Four to five months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions.
• 43.9% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, on par with the share a year earlier.
• Homes that sold were on the market for a median of 27 days, up from 22 days a year earlier.
• 36.3% of homes sold above their final list price, down from 45% a year earlier.
• On average, 5.7% of homes for sale each week had a price drop, slightly below 6% a year earlier.
• The average sale-to-list price ratio was 100%. That’s down from 101% a year earlier.

To view the full report, including charts, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-biggest-home-price-increase-since-november