【World Property Journal】Foreign Investment in U.S. Homes Dives 27 Percent to $54.4 Billion

According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors, foreign home buyers purchased $54.4 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2020 through March 2021, a 27% decrease from the previous 12-month period and the fourth consecutive annual decline in foreign investment in U.S. residential real estate.

Foreign buyers purchased 107,000 properties, down 31% from the prior year, as the COVID-19 pandemic led to a strong global economic contraction and a decline in international tourist and business arrivals. The dollar and sales volumes are the lowest since 2011, when those figures were $66.4 billion and 210,800 properties, respectively.

NAR's 2021 Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate surveyed members about transactions with international clients who purchased and sold U.S. residential property from April 2020 through March 2021. 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 $32.4 billion worth of U.S. existing homes, a 21% decrease from the prior year and representing 60% of the dollar volume of purchases. Foreign buyers who lived abroad purchased $22 billion worth of existing homes, down 33% from the 12 months prior and accounting for 40% of the dollar volume. International buyers accounted for 2.8% of the $5.8 trillion in existing-home sales during that time period.

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