International Home Buyer Statistics 2026: 6 Markets Compared

Quick answer: International home buyers are a meaningful source of demand, but their importance is hidden by inconsistent definitions. In the latest available data, international buyers represented 1.7% of U.S. existing-home purchases yet generated $45.3 billion in sales. Foreign nationals completed 13.82% of Spain's home purchases, while non-Cypriots accounted for 28% of all property transactions in Cyprus. In Thailand, foreigners bought 14.7% of transferred condominium units and 25% by value. Portugal and the Netherlands show why national averages can mislead: foreign-national or international-buyer shares are much higher than narrow non-resident figures in certain buyer groups and local neighborhoods.

The central finding: International demand is not one small global niche. It is a collection of concentrated, high-intent buyer markets that domestic property portals often fail to see, and are rarely designed to carry through to closing.

Key findings

International buyer activity across six markets

Latest available full-year or rolling-year data as of 30 July 2026. Shares use different official or industry definitions; see the methodology note.

Sources: NAR; Registradores de España; Statistics Portugal (INE); Cyprus DLS/PwC; Thailand REIC; NVM. "Foreign" and "international" are source-defined terms.

United States: a small share of a very large market

The National Association of REALTORS® estimates that international buyers purchased 67,100 U.S. existing homes from April 2025 through March 2026. Those purchases represented 1.7% of existing-home sales and 2.0% of dollar volume. In absolute terms, however, the segment generated $45.3 billion of transactions.

The value share exceeded the unit share because international buyers purchased more expensive homes. Their median purchase price was $465,000, compared with $413,600 for all existing-home buyers. Almost half—48%—paid entirely in cash, versus 28% of all buyers.

The most important detail is who NAR counts as international. Only 44% of foreign purchases came from buyers living abroad. The other 56% came from recent immigrants or non-immigrant visa holders already living in the United States. A portal that looks only at a buyer's current IP address or domestic mailing address can therefore miss more than half of the segment.

Where U.S. international demand came from

International demand was also highly concentrated by destination. Florida attracted 20% of foreign buyers, California 19%, Texas 12%, and New Jersey and Georgia 4% each. National share alone understates what international demand means to agents and sellers in those markets.

Spain: nearly one in seven home purchases was foreign

Spain provides one of Europe's clearest examples of international demand becoming a structural part of the market. Registradores de España recorded 705,357 home purchases in 2025. Foreign nationals completed 13.82% of them, about 97,500 transactions, up from roughly 93,000 in 2024.

The national figure is already substantial, but the regional data is the real story. Foreign buyers accounted for 29.86% of home purchases in the Balearic Islands, 27.65% in the Valencian Community, 25.65% in the Canary Islands and 21.42% in Murcia.

At province level, the concentration was even higher: 43.29% in Alicante, 32.8% in Málaga, 30.04% in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 29.86% in the Balearic Islands and 25% in Girona. In Alicante, international demand was not a specialist side market; it was approaching half of all purchases.

British buyers remained the largest foreign-nationality group, followed by German, Dutch, Moroccan, Romanian, French and Italian buyers. A Spanish seller relying only on a domestic-language portal can therefore exclude a meaningful share of the addressable buyer pool before the search even begins.

Portugal: 27.6% by nationality, about 5% by non-residency

Portugal demonstrates why the definition of an international buyer changes the size of the market. Statistics Portugal reported that Portuguese nationals made 72.4% of household home purchases in 2025. That means non-Portuguese nationals accounted for about 27.6%, or approximately 41,000 homes.

But when the same market is viewed through tax residence, buyers resident outside Portugal purchased 8,471 homes—about 5% of all transactions. Both figures can be accurate. They answer different questions.

A foreign national who already works, studies or lives in Portugal is usually counted as a domestic tax resident. Yet that buyer may still need another language, international funds transfers, unfamiliar-document guidance, cross-border tax support and help finding trusted local professionals.

Why it matters: International is not simply where the buyer is sitting. It describes the friction the buyer must overcome.

Cyprus: foreign buyers drove 28% of property transactions

PwC's analysis of Department of Lands and Surveys data found that foreign buyers acquired 7,255 properties in Cyprus in 2025, 16% more than in 2024. They represented 28% of all property transactions.

This measure covers the broader property market rather than only residential homes, so it should not be compared directly with Spain's residential share. Even with that caveat, the result shows how central cross-border demand is to a small, internationally connected market.

Paphos, Limassol and Larnaca accounted for most of the increase in foreign purchases. In a market like Cyprus, international reach is not an optional marketing channel. It is core distribution infrastructure.

Thailand: foreigners bought one in seven condo units—and one-quarter by value

Thailand's legal framework limits the types of residential property foreigners can own, which makes the condominium segment the most useful measure. Real Estate Information Center data show that foreign buyers acquired 14,899 condominium units in 2025, up 2.2% year over year.

Foreign buyers represented 14.7% of condominium units transferred nationwide but 25% of transfer value. The gap indicates that their economic weight was substantially larger than their transaction count alone suggests. Total foreign condominium transfer value reached approximately THB 60.9 billion.

Chinese nationals remained the largest group, with 4,940 units, although demand became more diversified across Russian, Taiwanese and other buyers. For developers and agents selling qualifying Thai condominiums, international discovery and multilingual transaction support are essential parts of the commercial model.

Netherlands: 1.6% nationally, up to one-third locally

The Netherlands shows how a modest national average can conceal intense local demand. NVM reported that internationals purchased 1.6% of homes sold through its agents in 2025—twice the share recorded in 2020.

NVM's definition includes expats, foreign students, labor migrants and other international residents. Their purchases were concentrated around employment centers, universities and international schools. In popular Amsterdam neighborhoods, internationals represented 12% to 14% of buyers. The share reached 20% on the Zuidas and nearly one-third in Amstelveen's Westwijk.

On the rental market, about one in four NVM tenants was international. The pattern is clear: national data can make the segment look small while individual neighborhoods operate as genuinely international markets.

Why international home-buyer statistics are difficult to compare

There is no standardized global definition of an international home buyer. Anyone using these figures should keep four distinctions in view.

Why property portals underestimate the segment

Most property infrastructure is still organized country by country. One portal dominates the Netherlands, another the United Kingdom, another Spain, and another France. This structure mirrors the old real estate industry, not the modern buyer.

The buyer may search across borders

A Canadian may compare Florida, Spain and Portugal. A Dutch family may search the Algarve and Costa Blanca. A U.S. buyer may consider London, Amsterdam or Málaga. National portals force that buyer to restart the search, identity, communication and agent-discovery process in every market.

The buyer may already live in the destination country

NAR's resident-foreign share and Portugal's nationality-versus-residency gap show that cross-border needs do not disappear after relocation. Language, source of funds, documentation, professional networks and regulatory familiarity can remain international.

Listings are only the first step

Finding a property does not complete a transaction. International buyers must coordinate identity verification, financing, currency transfer, inspections, valuation, legal review, tax questions, title or notarial work, contracts, deadlines and closing. The difficulty increases when participants are in different countries and time zones.

Anyone.com is being built for the market that already exists

Anyone.com is designed as a truly international property marketplace, not a domestic portal with an overseas tab. According to Anyone's internal platform data, new listings are added daily from more than 26 countries as of July 2026.

The distinction is not merely the number of countries on a search page. Anyone brings property discovery, agent matching, communication, viewings, offers, documents and the path to closing into one shared workspace.

For an international buyer, that means one place to understand what happens next and coordinate the people involved. For sellers and agents, it means access to buyers beyond a single domestic portal. Licensed local professionals remain essential wherever regulated expertise is required; Anyone's role is to connect and orchestrate the transaction around them.

Many platforms aggregate international listings. Anyone's ambition is different: to make an international property transaction manageable from search to closing.

The opportunity: The next global property marketplace will not win simply by publishing the most pages. It will win by helping high-intent buyers complete transactions wherever they are.

What this means for sellers, agents and platforms

Frequently asked questions

Methodology and important caveats

Sources

Update log

30 July 2026: First edition, using source material available through July 2026.