Now, according to new data, international buyers — many of whom don’t reside in the U.S. at all — are setting their sights on California’s already-limited housing stock and paying for it in cash.   

According to a 2025 report from the National Association of Realtors, which tracked data from April of 2024 to March of this year, 15% of all foreign buyers who purchased a residential property in the U.S. bought in California. Fifty-seven percent of buyers who purchased property in California were from Asia/Oceania, followed by Latin America at 18%, the report said.

“It was the top destination among Chinese buyers and the second top destination among Mexican, Indian, and U.K. buyers,” the report said. Overall, during the April 2024-March 2025 period, buyers who live abroad or recently immigrated to the U.S. “made up a slightly larger share of stagnant U.S. existing-home sales,” increasing the number of international purchases for the first time since 2017. The report doesn’t say what portion of all home sales in California were to foreign buyers.

“Chinese buyers are drawn to California due to its proximity to China, business opportunities from moving to the world’s fourth largest economy, and stronger cultural ties to the population in certain markets,” Matt Christopherson, a business and consumer research director at the National Association of Realtors, told SFGATE. “Additionally, low affordability in California brings strong rental demand, presenting an opportunity for those investment buyers purchasing residential rentals.”

Despite America’s sluggish housing market, reports of real estate professionals working with an international client rose to 20%, a 33% increase compared to the prior period. Buyers from other countries spent $56 billion on U.S. homes this past year, with nonresidents purchasing 34,400, up from 23,300 the year prior, data shows. 

By region, Asian buyers remained the largest group of international buyers, with a buyer share of 38%, followed by Latin American buyers at 28% and Canadian buyers at 14%, while European buyers accounted for 11%, the report continued. “Measured by the number of homes purchased, China returned as the top country of origin among foreign buyers during April 2024 to March 2025, accounting for 15% of the homes purchased by foreign buyers (11% in the prior period),” it said. Seventy-one percent of Chinese homebuyers bought properties in cash, with the average home purchase price at $1.2 million — the highest number among top buyers from Canada, Mexico, India and the U.K. 

And because of the limited housing stock, combined with currency exchange rates and stagnant mortgage rates, buyers who live abroad are more likely to pay for condos and single-family homes in cash, the report said. The data also suggests that these properties are viewed as investment opportunities rather than primary residences. 

During the 2024-2025 study period, 56% “of non-resident foreign buyers paid all-cash compared to 39% among foreign buyers living in the U.S.,” the report said, and 60% of foreign buyers who live abroad purchased properties with the intention of either vacationing at them or renting them out — a stark contrast compared to the 36% actually living in the United States.