The Chinese topped the list of overseas buyers of US homes for the 10th consecutive year, according to the US National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The NAR, which groups together buyers from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said investors spent US$6.1 billion on property purchases in the 12 months ended March, an increase of 27 per from a year ago. Six out of 10 Chinese investors settled their purchases in cash.
Overall, foreign investors bought US$59 billion of residential units, up 8.5 per cent from the previous year and snapping three consecutive years of declines, according to the NAR, which represents 1.5 million members in the residential and commercial real estate industries. International buyers accounted for 2.6 per cent of the US$2.3 trillion property market during the period.
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Foreigners acquired 98,600 existing homes, accounting for 1.6 per cent of the total 6.12 million units sold in the period. It was, however, the lowest purchase by overseas buyers since NAR began tracking data in 2009.
"For the second year in a row, restrictions and general caution tied to international travel during the pandemic slowed home buying by wealthier foreign buyers," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.
The Chinese have been the largest foreign buyers of US homes since 2013, NAR said. In the last 10 years, Chinese investors have bought US$188.6 billion worth of property, accounting for over a fifth of the total US$906.2 billion investment in the period.
Meanwhile, the increase in US home prices pushed the average and median prices among international buyers to record highs of US$598,200 and US$366,100, respectively. The monthly average existing-home sales price in the US during the period rose 10 per cent to US$374,300.
Chinese buyers' average purchase price of just over US$1 million was the highest among foreign buyers, with nearly a third purchasing property in California.
More than four out of every 10 international buyer transactions were made via all-cash purchases, nearly twice the rate of all such acquisitions. The Canadians were most likely to acquire homes through outright cash purchases, with seven out of 10 paying cash. They were followed by the Chinese at 58 per cent.
While rising interest rates are likely to lead to a decline in overall home sales in the US this year, foreign buyers are likely to step up purchases, said Yun.