International buyers accounted for 1.5% of US online home search traffic during the third quarter, according to data from Realtor.com. This is down slightly from 1.6% one year ago but also above the 1.2% share in pre-pandemic 2019.
Canada remained the primary source of prospective international buyers, albeit at a lower level – the third quarter share of 32.1% was down from the 36.6% level set one year earlier. Realtor.com attributed this decline to the US-Canadian trade conflict and exchange rate volatility. Other major sources of international US home shopping demand included the UK (6.5%), Mexico (5.6%), Germany (4.1%), and Australia (3.4%).
International shoppers were greatly interested in higher-end properties during the third quarter – the median home viewed by foreign buyers in the top 20 US markets was 29.8% more expensive than those viewed by domestic shoppers. Markets such as Los Angeles (173.6%), New York City (49.2%), San Francisco (33.4%), and Boston (23.8%) posted the largest price gaps, highlighting their status as global luxury destinations.
However, Miami remained the top destination for international shoppers in the third quarter, capturing 8.4% of all views from overseas, followed by New York City (5.6%), Los Angeles (4.8%), Orlando (2.7%), and Dallas (2.7%).
“Proposed ‘gold’ and ‘platinum visa’ programs may draw more high-net-worth buyers to luxury markets, while restrictions on H-1B visas could weigh on demand in innovation-driven metros such as Austin and San Jose,” said Jiayi Xu, senior economist at Realtor.com.
