As the president of Florida Realtors, Tim Weisheyer travels frequently around the world to “tell the Florida story … great lifestyle, coastal, sunshine, great business environment, no state income tax.”
Apparently, people listen.
International interest in U.S. real estate is rising, and Florida is the state where the most foreign investors are buying.
That’s according to a July report from the National Association of Realtors, which found that foreign buyers bought $56 billion worth of existing U.S. homes between April 2024 and March 2025, a 33% increase over the previous 12 months.
The out-of-country buyers purchased 78,100 properties over that period, up 44% from the previous year and the first year-over-year increase since 2017, according to the report. The median home price paid was $494,000, a record high.
Of those purchases, 21% were in the Sunshine State, followed by California at 15%. Texas, New York, and Arizona rounded out the top five with 10%, 7%, and 5% of the market share, respectively.
"International interest in buying U.S. real estate increased following the global economic recovery from several years of pandemic-related disruptions," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "However, elevated home prices and interest rates continue to dampen overall potential sales activity and remain well below pre-pandemic levels.”
Foreign purchases had been on the decline.
In a May report using NAR data, Homes.com noted that the country had a steady drop in the total number of foreign-born homebuyers in recent years. The country's largest feeder markets — Canada, China, and Mexico — in particular have been thinning, according to the report. NAR provided its data based on an annual survey it administered in April 2024. The NAR sent its national survey to 150,000 real estate agents and 17,000 completed the questionnaire.
The NAR data shows a plummet in foreign-born buyers from Canada, from 44,194 in 2014 to 7,059 in 2024, an 84% drop. The same goes for China and Mexico: Demand from these countries fell between 71% and 84%. China went from 37,216 buyers in 2014 to 5,973 in 2024, while Mexico's declined from 20,934 to 5,973.
Foreign-born buyer deals overall totaled 54,300 in 2024, down from 84,600 in 2023 and 98,600 in 2022.
Investors know Florida
China was the largest source of buyers, making up 15% of purchases nationwide, according to the NAR report.
However, a 2024 report from Florida Realtors found that the state’s biggest buyer source is Canada, with 17% of international sales, followed by Argentina (10%), Colombia (7%), Brazil (6%), and the United Kingdom (5%).
“We should always ask why,” Weisheyer said. “Why are people being driven here?”
Rob Aponte runs the Aponte Group with Real Broker in Orlando, which specializes in international clients. He said foreign buyers look to Florida first because they know it.
“You can’t talk to anyone in the world who isn’t familiar with Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando,” Aponte said, adding that many of his clients’ first introduction to America was landing at Orlando International Airport.
More than 90% of buyers visited the state before making a purchase, according to the Florida Realtors report.
Aponte said Florida’s diverse population was a big draw for people around the globe. “People like how [Florida] is a melting pot,” he said. “No one who comes here feels out of place.”
Close to half, 49%, buy in South Florida, followed by metropolitan Orlando with 11% and Tampa with 7%, according to Florida Realtors.
“But no one area of Florida is untouched by cross-pollination from around the world,” Weisheyer said.
Foreign buyers seek havens
Investment in the U.S. can be heavily influenced by international events. “One of the big things that influences money flowing into our area is [foreign buyers’] political and economic climate,” Aponte said.
Weisheyer said the relatively stable U.S. economy is just a safer bet for buyers’ money than their home countries.
“A lot of foreign investors are looking to place money in areas where they know that private property rights are protected,” he said. “And Florida is one of the leading states in the nation for that.”
Both Aponte and Weisheyer agree that the majority of buyers are investing.
Seventy-four percent of international buyers in Florida intended to use the purchased properties for vacation homes to stay in, rent out, or both, according to the 2024 report. Weisheyer points to an area near Orlando that has trafficked heavily in short-term rental properties and been an attractor for international buyers.
“They’re not looking at it based on buying a home to live,” Weisheyer said. “They’re looking at it, asking, ‘What income can I derive from that property?’”
Aponte said Florida’s warm climate plays into that as well. “If they invest in a property here, it can be used year-round,” he said, which works for renting it out and visiting it themselves. “A big part of it is personal use.”
However, Weisheyer stressed that international buyers are still only a small part of the market. While Florida attracted 21% of all purchases from outside the country, sales to foreign buyers made up only 3% of purchases overall in the state.
“It’s not enough” to have a big impact on prices, he said.