Total number of residential properties bought by Chinese buyers in the U.S. 2010-22

Chinese buyers comprise one of the largest groups of foreign buyers of residential property in the United States. Historically, between 20,000 and 40,000 residential properties were bought by Chinese nationals, but in 2022, both the sales volume and percentage of all foreign-bought properties declined. In 2022, Chinese buyers were responsible for only six percent of all sales to foreigners, which was a significant decrease from 16 percent in 2015.

Who is the biggest buyer of U.S. residential property?

Canadian and Mexican buyers bought the most U.S. residential property in 2022. Nevertheless, Chinese buyers still accounted for the largest share when looking at the value of transactions. On average, Chinese bought properties were also substantially more expensive than the ones purchased by Canadians.

How big is the market?

The total property sales to foreign buyers peaked at 153 U.S. dollars in 2017, followed by four consecutive years of decrease. In 2022, it reached 59 billion U.S. dollars. One of the biggest factors in that influenced the market was the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the restrictions on international travel.