Quick answer: Two numbers from the NAR 2025 report explain most of what happens to an international buyer in Florida. This state takes 21% of all foreign purchases, more than any other. And 47% of foreign buyers pay cash, against 28% of buyers generally. Put those together and Florida is where the new federal reporting rule for cash entity purchases will bite hardest.
International demand is usually reported as a headline about volume. The more useful readings are in the composition, and this year’s report carries two that matter directly to anyone buying or selling Florida property.
Where the money went
| State | Share of international purchases |
|---|---|
| Florida | 21% |
| California | 15% |
| Texas | 10% |
| New York | 7% |
| Arizona | 5% |
Florida has led this table for at least fifteen consecutive years, which makes it a structural feature rather than a cycle. For a buyer that is reassurance about exit liquidity: the pool of international purchasers who might buy your property later is the largest in the country and has been for a decade and a half.
The wider volume recovered too. Purchases rose 44% on the prior year, the first increase since 2017, on 78,100 properties totalling 56 billion dollars. Median price reached a record 494,400 dollars.
Two points of caution on that recovery. It follows several years of decline, so a 44% increase is a rebound rather than a new peak. And at 2.5% of total US dollar volume, international buying is not what sets national prices, however visible it is in particular Florida submarkets.
The cash share is the operationally important number
| Buyer group | Paid cash |
|---|---|
| International buyers | 47% |
| All buyers | 28% |
Nearly half of international purchases complete without a mortgage. That has always been the defining operational feature of this segment, and as of 2026 it has a new consequence.
The FinCEN residential real estate reporting rule, live since 1 March 2026, reaches non-financed transfers to legal entities and trusts. Cash and entity together is precisely the profile this report describes, and Florida holds the largest share of it.
The rule does not reach an individual buying in their own name, however large the wire. But the international buyer who purchases in cash through a structure, which is common in this segment for liability and estate reasons, now sits inside a federal filing regime. The mechanics are in our FinCEN rule update.
What the composition means at exit
Demand data is normally read as a reason to buy. Read it instead as a description of who will be available when you sell.
A fifth of international purchases arriving in one state means Florida sellers have access to a genuinely deep international bid. It also means Florida resale values carry exposure to conditions in the source countries, which a purely domestic market would not have.
The practical response is about breadth of appeal rather than location:
- Prefer assets several buyer types would want. A property only an overseas cash buyer would consider has one exit; one a local family would also buy has more.
- Ask what the property is worth without the international bid, and be comfortable with that number.
- Recognise that a cash-dominated buyer segment is less sensitive to mortgage rates and more sensitive to currency and political conditions, which are harder to forecast.
Financing, for the half who do borrow, carries a spread set out in our DSCR rates update. The screening regime that lengthens some international closings is in our SB 264 update.
Our reading: the recovery in international volume is real, the Florida concentration is durable, and the cash share is the number that determines how an international purchase here actually proceeds in 2026.
Current supply conditions are in our Florida inventory tracker, and the document list for a purchase is in our due diligence guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
21% of all international purchases in the NAR 2025 report, ahead of California at 15%, Texas at 10%, New York at 7% and Arizona at 5%. Florida has led for at least 15 consecutive years.
Foreign buyers purchased 56 billion dollars of existing US homes from April 2024 through March 2025, across 78,100 properties. That is 2.5% of total dollar volume.
It rose. Purchases were up 44% on the prior year, the first year-on-year increase since 2017, with a record median purchase price of 494,400 dollars.
47% of international buyers paid cash against 28% of all buyers. Cash purchases through an entity are exactly what the FinCEN residential reporting rule reaches, so the rule concentrates on this segment.
Sources: National Association of Realtors, 2025 Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate, covering April 2024 to March 2025; Florida Realtors reporting on Florida’s leading share. Verified 27 August 2026.
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