International investors sitting out the California home market (2024)

FAQs

What percentage of US homes are owned by foreign investors? ›

Foreign buyers living in the U.S. made up the lion's share of investors, buying $34.1 billion worth of U.S. homes — or 58% of the volume.

International buyers purchased $59 billion worth of U.S. residential properties from April 2021–March 2022, up 8.5% from the previous year and breaking a three-year streak of declines. The 98,600 existing homes sold – the lowest since NAR tracking began in 2009 – were down 7.9% from the previous year.

Chinese buyers bought $6.1 billion in existing homes in 2022, up 30% from the prior period even as the number of homes purchased by Chinese buyers dropped. That's because the average Chinese purchase price jumped from $710,000 to just over $1 million in the same period, by far the biggest average budget of any country.

According to data reported by the PEW Trust and originally gathered by CoreLogic, as of 2022, investment companies own about one fourth of all single-family homes. Last year, investor purchases accounted for 22% of American homes sold. This is significantly down from the 80% number in 2020-2021, why is this?

Despite what you may have heard about China's specific influence in purchasing property and agricultural land in the U.S., Canada is still the largest investor, accounting for 8% of foreign investments in U.S. real estate, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Canadian buyers made up the largest share of major foreign buyers of property in the United States in 2022 by country. In that year, Mexican buyers were the second largest group of foreign buyers, making up eight percent of foreign buyers.

Highlights: Foreign Investment US Real Estate Statistics

From April 2020 to March 2021, investors from outside the United States bought 107,000 properties worth $54.4 billion in the United States. Foreign-born individuals make up 14.25 percent of the population in the country's 50 largest metros, on average.

Upon sale of real property, the foreign investor will be subject to FIRPTA withholding tax at the rate of 15% of the total sale price (not on gain realized from sale) subject to certain exceptions. FIRPTA tax must be withheld from the purchase price by the buyer and is treated as an advance payment of U.S. taxes.

Chinese investors are among the top foreign purchasers of residential real estate, along with Canadians, according to the National Association of Realtors. Other states have had concerns over foreign ownership of land and have made efforts to regulate it.

China owns roughly 384,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land, according to a 2021 report from the Department of Agriculture.

Does China store 70% of its wealth in real estate? ›

In play now in China, where around 70% of household wealth is in property, this phenomenon is weighing on the post-pandemic recovery of household consumption, which Chinese policymakers have vowed to make a more prominent driver of economic growth.

California's Real Estate Market Today

As of mid-2022, California's real estate market is one of the strongest and most dynamic in the country. That alone should answer the question of is California real estate a good investment, but it's important to note that it's also a sweeping generalization.

The company can build equity.

If the company has borrowed money to purchase the house, it can build equity over time, essentially increasing the percentage of the home it owns outright and can then borrow against later on.

Investors piled into the housing market in 2021 due to rock-bottom mortgage rates and surging housing demand, and are now retreating amid projections that home prices have room to fall.

John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. Malone made his fortune as a media tycoon, building the company Tele-Communications, Inc, or TCI, and acting as its CEO before selling it to AT&T for $50 billion in 1999.

At the top, Orange County, California-based Donald Bren remains the wealthiest real estate billionaire in the country with an estimated $16.2 billion net worth, nearly $1 billion higher than last year.

China is home to more of the world real estate market assets (by value) than any other country at $42.7tn or 21 per cent of global real estate value, just ahead of the US at $42.1tn.

In addition to leading the way in home buying, baby boomers remained the largest home seller generation, jumping from 42% in 2021 to 52% in 2022. Among all generations, sellers typically remained in their home for 10 years before selling, up from nine years last year.

Chinese buyers are returning to the U.S. housing market after a long lull, but recent efforts by several states to restrict certain foreign purchases could make homebuying harder for them. Why it matters: Chinese buyers spent $6.1 billion on existing U.S. homes last year, more than any other international homebuyers.

China, Canada, India, Mexico and Brazil were the top five countries of origin for foreign U.S. buyers. Chinese buyers had the highest average purchase price, at “just over $1 million,” per the report, with 31% of purchasers from China opting for properties in California.

Who is buying American real estate? ›

Chinese buyers spent the most on U.S. properties, dropping $6.1 billion in total. They were followed by Canadians, who collectively paid $5.5 billion. Buyers from India followed at $3.6 billion. Then came Mexican buyers, at $2.9 billion, and Brazilians, at $1.6 billion.

The 2022 Land Report 100, compiled each year by The Land Report magazine, released its annual list of landowners who own the most acres in the United States. The nation's largest private landowners are the Emmerson family in California who own over 2.4 million acres.

This is 2.9 percent of all privately held agricultural land and 1.7 percent of all land in the United States.

While foreigners can buy property in the US, the easiest way to purchase your home if you are a foreigner is to pay the full price in cash. If you need financing (a mortgage), you will have to meet certain financing requirements.

You do not have to withhold tax if the CA real property is: $100,000 or less. In foreclosure. Seller is a bank acting as a trustee.

That means any gain from selling your primary residence overseas is usually tax-free, as long as you meet the occupancy requirements and your gain is below these thresholds: $500,000 – if you're married filing jointly. $250,000 – if you use any other filing status.

Under US domestic tax laws, a foreign person generally is subject to 30% US tax on the gross amount of certain US-source income.

Anyone may buy and own property in the United States, regardless of citizenship. There are no laws or restrictions that prevent an individual of any foreign citizenship from owning or buying a home in the U.S.

The rights to purchase and own property in the United States is the same for a foreign investor as they are for a United States citizen. These tax benefits are the major factor luring more and more investments by foreign investors in the US real estate market.

What percentage of American homes are owned by China? ›

How have Chinese and Canadian investments developed over time? The share of Chinese investors in the U.S. real estate market remained somewhat constant until 2018 when it hovered at around 15 percent, before dropping to 11 percent in 2019 and then six percent in 2021.

China purchased $165 billion in goods and services from the United States in 2015, representing 7.3 percent of all US exports and about 1 percent of total US economic output.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) latest report on foreign ownership of American land, from 2021, 146 Chinese investors held 383,935 acres—nearly double the 193,700 acres that comprise New York City.

1- United States: Located in North America, the United States ranks third in the world in terms of size and population. It has again beaten China, to become the richest country in the world.

How much is rich in China? Millionaires are defined as individuals with personal wealth of over 10 million yuan, and super-rich are defined as individuals with personal wealth of 100 million yuan or above. One yuan equals approximately 0.16 U.S. dollars and 0.14 euros (as of April 2022).

China dominates every aspect of the bilateral economic relationship, as a net exporter, net creditor and net investor, despite Russia long being a richer country than China.

The Most Overvalued MSA to Rent a Home

The Riverside-San Bernardino MSA is ranked as the most overvalued region to rent a home because its rental rates have risen faster than local incomes.

Levine anticipates the California median sales price to rise 9.7% year on year in 2022, a substantial decrease from the over 20% growth projected in 2021.

Housing Market Forecast for California Metro Areas

Based on Zillow's data and CAR's data, the California housing market is expected to experience a slowdown in 2023 and 2024. According to Zillow, the average home value in California is $728,121, down 3.4% over the past year, and homes go pending in around 15 days.

Highlights: Foreign Investment US Real Estate Statistics

From April 2020 to March 2021, investors from outside the United States bought 107,000 properties worth $54.4 billion in the United States. Foreign-born individuals make up 14.25 percent of the population in the country's 50 largest metros, on average.

How much American property is foreign owned? ›

This is 2.9 percent of all privately held agricultural land and 1.7 percent of all land in the United States.

USDA reports that foreign persons and entities held an interest in 40.8 million acres of U.S. agricultural land in 2021, accounting for 3.1% of total privately owned land (Table 1). These data cover agricultural land and nonagricultural land.

China owns roughly 384,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land, according to a 2021 report from the Department of Agriculture.

Of this acreage, foreign investors held an interest in 1,136,206 acres. Foreign-held land in California represents 2.7 percent of the state's total privately held agricultural land. This is close to the national average of 2.9 percent.

Many Chinese and Hong Kong nationals may find this an intriguing option because of the relatively cheaper housing prices in the United States (compared to metro areas of other western countries) and the availability of coastal area properties in many country locations.

The US is a renter-friendly country with a high demand for rental properties. Therefore, you can easily find tenants for your investment property in the USA and generate good rental income. Rental yield is defined as the gross annual rental income as a percentage of the property purchase price.

Chinese investors are among the top foreign purchasers of residential real estate, along with Canadians, according to the National Association of Realtors. Other states have had concerns over foreign ownership of land and have made efforts to regulate it.

Who owns the most land in the U.S.? While not private landowners, the U.S. federal government owns about 640 million acres of land, which is 28% of the land in the country. Out of all of the states, Nevada has the highest percentage of federally owned land.

According to the USDA, Chinese landowners control approximately 383,000 acres of U.S. farmland – and their investments are growing, FOX Business' Lydia Hu reported on Monday. Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland jumped more than 20-fold in a decade from $81 million in 2010 to nearly $1.9 billion in 2021.

Foreign investors are not allowed to buy land in China. The land in China belongs to the state and the collectives.

Do foreign real estate investors pay US taxes? ›

Upon sale of real property, the foreign investor will be subject to FIRPTA withholding tax at the rate of 15% of the total sale price (not on gain realized from sale) subject to certain exceptions. FIRPTA tax must be withheld from the purchase price by the buyer and is treated as an advance payment of U.S. taxes.

Do US Citizens Have to Pay Taxes on Foreign Property? All US citizens must file a yearly tax return regardless of where they live in the world. When filing your return, you must report your worldwide income. This includes any gain or loss from selling a foreign property and rental income.

Canadian investors lead this pack, by a long shot, with nearly 9.4 million acres of U.S. land — more acreage than 44 of the top 50 foreign landowners combined, according to the report. (These people own the most land in America.)