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Chinese Top List of Foreign Buyers of U.S. Homes for First Time
Wednesday, June 17, 2015 10:47 AM
By: Prashant Gopal and John Gittelsohn
Chinese buyers accounted for more U.S. home purchases than any other foreign group for the first time in the past year, topping Canadians.
Buyers from China accounted for about $28.6 billion of property deals, followed by Canada at $11.2 billion, India with $7.9 billion, Mexico with $4.9 billion and the U.K. at $3.8 billion, according to a report Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. The data covered sales for the 12 months through March.
By number of transactions, total U.S. home sales to international buyers dropped 10 percent, indicating a stronger dollar decreased demand. Purchases by dollar volume were about $104 billion, up from the year-ago estimate of $92.2 billion, the group said.
“This means international purchasers in the U.S. have become an upscale group of buyers, spending more money on fewer homes,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the Realtors group, said in the statement.
Chinese buyers accounted for 16 percent of transactions by foreign buyers, while Canadians were 14 percent. Chinese buyers typically purchased the most expensive properties, at an average price of $831,800, the Realtors said.
