Foreign buyers paid an average of $477,462 to purchase an existing home in the United States, according to the National Association of Realtors’ recently released 2016 Profile of International Activity in U.S. Residential Real Estate. For comparison, the average price for all existing homes sold in the U.S. was $266,683. Foreign buyers also had a higher median price of $277,380 compared to the median price of all existing homes of $223,058.
Chinese buyers are leading the way, with an average purchase price in 2016 of $936,615. The last time buyers from a country other than China had the highest average purchase price was 2011, when U.K. buyers paid an average of $438,889 compared to China’s $370,902. U.K. buyers currently spend the second most on average, at $598,182.
Additionally, when asked how they view U.S. prices compared to prices in their home country, 36 percent of foreign buyers said they are less expensive, 30 percent said they don’t know, 24 percent said they are more expensive, and 10 percent said they are about the same.
PB Topical Ref
