Real estate purchases by foreigners and recent immigrants jumped 49% to $153.0 billion between April 2016 and March 2017, from $103.9 billion over the same period last year, according a new survey by the National Association of Realtors.
The top countries of origin of foreign buyers in order are China ($27.3 billion), Canada ($19.0 billion), the UK ($9.5 billion), Mexico ($9.3 billion) and India ($7.8 billion).
While China maintained its top position in sales dollar volume for the fourth consecutive year, the significant rise in foreign investment in the survey came from a surge in Canadian buyers, for whom US properties are substantially cheaper than real estate in their home country.
The survey revealed that foreign buying activity is mostly confined to three states, as Florida (22%), California (12%) and Texas (12%) maintained their position as the top destinations for foreigners, followed by New Jersey and Arizona (each at 4%). Florida was the most popular state for Canadian buyers, Chinese buyers mostly chose California, and Texas was the preferred state for Mexican buyers.