High Housing Costs in the US Weigh on Foreign Buyers

Elevated housing costs are not just impacting American homebuyers. A recent study from the National Association of Realtors shows foreign purchases were down by more than 21% year-over-year. Foreign buyers purchased $42 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2023 through March 2024, accounting for 54,300 properties. This is the fewest amount of foreign purchases since NAR began tracking this data in 2009. At the same time, the average home price for foreign buyers was the highest ever recorded at $780,300.

"The strong U.S. dollar makes international travel cheaper for Americans but makes U.S. homes much more expensive for foreigners," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Therefore, it's not surprising to see a pullback in U.S. home sales from foreign buyers."

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