Updated · David Hodara, Founder
67,100
US existing homes bought by foreign buyers, Apr 2025 to Mar 2026 (NAR)
21.5%
Typical gross flipping ROI, US, Q2 2026, down from 27.6% a year earlier (ATTOM)
140,579
Single-family units permitted in Texas in 2025, the most of any state (US Census Bureau)
59,660
Build-to-rent units under construction in the US as of August 2026 (RealPage)
1 · Foreign buyers
Foreign buyers bought 67,100 US homes worth $45.3 billion.
Between April 2025 and March 2026, international buyers purchased 67,100 existing US homes for a total of $45.3 billion, according to the National Association of REALTORS 2026 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report. That is 14% fewer properties than the previous 12 months (78,100) and 19.1% less dollar volume (from $56 billion). NAR calls it the second-lowest level since it began tracking foreign buyers in 2009.
The median foreign purchase price was $465,000, and 48% of foreign buyers paid all cash, against 28% across all existing-home purchases. Buyers living outside the United States accounted for 29,500 purchases (44%) and $23.5 billion; recent immigrants and visa holders living in the US accounted for 37,600 purchases (56%) and $21.8 billion (NAR).
| Country of origin | Share | Homes | Dollar volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 16% | 10,700 | $5.2 billion |
| Mexico | 14% | 9,400 | $5.0 billion |
| China (mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan) | 11% | 7,400 | $7.6 billion |
| India | 9% | 6,000 | $3.7 billion |
| United Kingdom | 4% | 2,700 | $1.2 billion |
| State | Share |
|---|---|
| Florida | 20% |
| California | 19% |
| Texas | 12% |
| New Jersey | 4% |
| Georgia | 4% |
Florida, California and Texas together drew just over half of all foreign purchases (51%). NAR notes that Chinese buyers spent the most despite ranking third by count, because they bought higher-priced homes, specifically in California.
2 · Flipping
Flip returns kept narrowing: 21.5% gross ROI in Q2 2026.
77,991 single-family homes and condos were flipped in the second quarter of 2026, 6.2% of all US home sales, according to ATTOM's Q2 2026 U.S. Home Flipping Report. The flipping rate was down from 8.0% the previous quarter and 7.3% a year earlier. The typical gross profit was $60,526 (down from $71,000 a year earlier) and the typical gross return on the purchase price was 21.5% (down from 27.6%). The typical flip took 161 days from purchase to resale.
At state level (ATTOM state table, Q2 2026), Ohio had the highest flipping rate (9.6%), followed by Arizona, Nevada and Texas. Among large metros, the highest flipping rates were Cleveland (10.4%), Columbus, OH (9.5%), Memphis (9.5%), Dallas (9.4%) and Phoenix (8.9%). The four lowest-margin large metros were all in Texas: San Antonio (a 0.3% loss), Dallas (1.8%), Austin (2.8%) and Houston (3.7%) (ATTOM).
| State | Flips | Flipping rate | Gross profit | Gross ROI | ROI a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 8,444 | 6.2% | $75,000 | 10.5% | 18.0% |
| Texas | 8,389 | 7.5% | $8,083 | 2.8% | 6.5% |
| Florida | 8,192 | 6.1% | $68,000 | 24.1% | 26.2% |
| Ohio | 4,133 | 9.6% | $58,976 | 36.2% | 40.9% |
| Arizona | 3,440 | 8.4% | $40,436 | 10.4% | 15.7% |
| North Carolina | 3,244 | 6.5% | $53,500 | 21.7% | 24.5% |
| Georgia | 2,675 | 6.4% | $62,800 | 25.3% | 21.2% |
| Illinois | 2,540 | 5.7% | $89,500 | 45.8% | 53.5% |
| Pennsylvania | 2,333 | 5.5% | $105,000 | 65.6% | 81.9% |
| Tennessee | 2,172 | 7.3% | $95,000 | 48.7% | 63.1% |
| New Jersey | 1,589 | 6.0% | $145,000 | 40.3% | 43.6% |
| New York | 1,505 | 4.5% | $114,950 | 29.9% | 29.7% |
| United States | 77,991 | 6.2% | $60,526 | 21.5% | 27.6% |
3 · New construction
Ten states issued 62% of US single-family permits in 2025.
Building permits were issued for 911,903 single-family units across the United States in 2025, with a reported construction value of $292.6 billion, according to the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey annual state file. Texas and Florida alone accounted for more than a quarter of the total, and seven of the top ten states are in the South.
| Rank | State | Single-family units | Share of US | Permit value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 140,579 | 15.4% | $41.0B |
| 2 | Florida | 111,173 | 12.2% | $37.0B |
| 3 | North Carolina | 65,303 | 7.2% | $20.0B |
| 4 | California | 57,739 | 6.3% | $18.5B |
| 5 | Georgia | 44,351 | 4.9% | $13.2B |
| 6 | South Carolina | 39,897 | 4.4% | $12.7B |
| 7 | Arizona | 33,371 | 3.7% | $10.4B |
| 8 | Tennessee | 32,068 | 3.5% | $10.0B |
| 9 | Virginia | 20,458 | 2.2% | $6.0B |
| 10 | Indiana | 19,877 | 2.2% | $7.3B |
| United States | 911,903 | 100% | $292.6B |
4 · Build-to-rent
About 60,000 build-to-rent units are under construction.
RealPage Market Analytics counted 59,660 build-to-rent (BTR) units under construction in the United States as of August 2026, about 60% of them in the South (35,579 units), followed by the West (11,863), the Midwest (10,203) and the Northeast (2,015) (RealPage, September 1, 2026). In early May the count was about 61,700 (RealPage, May 20, 2026). Sixteen markets had 1,000 or more units underway, about 60% of the national pipeline, and Phoenix alone held roughly 10%.
RealPage defines BTR as single-family housing (detached, semi-detached, row houses, duplexes, quadruplexes and townhouses) built for rental. Based on projects already under construction, RealPage expects nearly 40,800 BTR deliveries by the end of 2026 and roughly 33,100 in 2027.
| Metro | Early May 2026 | August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | about 7,300 | about 10% of the US pipeline (count not itemized) |
| Dallas | about 3,700 | 3,943 |
| Atlanta | about 3,500 | 3,348 |
| Houston | about 3,000 | 2,692 |
| Charlotte | about 2,900 | 2,703 |
| Nashville | about 2,800 | not itemized |
| Raleigh/Durham | about 2,300 | not itemized |
| Tampa | about 2,100 | 2,072 |
| Austin | about 1,700 | not itemized |
| San Antonio | about 1,700 | not itemized |
| Indianapolis | about 1,500 | not itemized |
| United States | about 61,700 | 59,660 |
5 · Our view
What it means for financing.
This section is Passy Capital's reading of the data above, as a lender. It is opinion, not data, and it contains no figures other than our own published loan terms.
Construction and build-to-rent demand sits in the South. The states that permit the most single-family homes are the same Sun Belt states where the BTR pipeline is concentrated. That is where most requests for ground-up construction financing come from: spec homes, small BTR communities, and the land or lot bridge that comes before a construction draw schedule.
Texas is a build market more than a flip market right now. Texas leads the country in single-family permits and has two of the five largest BTR pipelines, while ATTOM shows Texas flip margins as the thinnest of the states in the table above, with its biggest metros at or near zero. A Texas flip can still work, but it has to show a spread against recent sold comparables rather than lean on the state average. In practice most of what we look at in Texas is construction and build-to-rent (see Texas).
Flip and bridge demand is strongest where returns hold up. The highest gross flip returns in the table are in older housing markets in the Northeast and Midwest (Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio) and in Tennessee, where the business is acquisition and renovation rather than new supply. That is fix and flip and bridge territory. One caveat on scale: ATTOM's typical flip is a smaller transaction than the loans we make, which start at $1M, so the state figures describe the resale market our borrowers sell into, not the size of their projects.
Foreign capital concentrates in three states. Florida, California and Texas take the majority of foreign purchases, and Florida and Texas are also the two largest single-family construction markets. A non-US investor in Florida, California or Texas is buying where the local investor base is deepest, which helps on comparables and exits. NAR's data also shows that close to half of foreign buyers pay all cash; financing the acquisition or the build keeps capital available for the next project.
How a non-US investor finances. The borrower is a US LLC, not the individual. We lend to that LLC on the same terms as to a US investor, with no US credit history required: bridge up to 80% LTV, fix and flip and renovation up to 90% LTC, ground-up construction up to 85% LTC, DSCR up to 80% LTV as the hold or exit, from $1M to $5M. Term sheets come back in 24 to 48 hours and a clean file closes in about two weeks. Our fee is 1% to 2% of the loan, paid at closing, with no upfront fees. Business-purpose, non-owner-occupied property only. Details on foreign national financing and setting up the US LLC, and the full list of states we cover on markets.
Questions
Questions this data answers.
How many US homes did foreign buyers purchase in the latest year?
67,100 existing homes worth $45.3 billion between April 2025 and March 2026, according to the National Association of REALTORS 2026 International Transactions report. That is 14% fewer properties and 19.1% less dollar volume than the previous 12 months. The median price was $465,000 and 48% of foreign buyers paid all cash. 44% of the purchases (29,500 homes, $23.5 billion) were made by buyers living outside the United States.
Which US states do foreign buyers buy in most?
Florida (20% of foreign purchases), California (19%), Texas (12%), New Jersey (4%) and Georgia (4%), per NAR's 2026 International Transactions report covering April 2025 to March 2026. By country of origin, Canada (16%) and Mexico (14%) bought the most homes, while buyers from China spent the most dollars ($7.6 billion).
Is house flipping still profitable in 2026?
On ATTOM's measure, yes on average but less than before. In Q2 2026 the typical US flip produced a gross profit of $60,526, a 21.5% gross return on the purchase price, down from 27.6% a year earlier. ATTOM's gross figures exclude rehab and carrying costs. Returns vary widely by state: Pennsylvania 65.6%, Tennessee 48.7%, Florida 24.1%, California 10.5% and Texas 2.8%.
Which state issued the most single-family building permits in 2025?
Texas, with 140,579 single-family units permitted in 2025, followed by Florida (111,173), North Carolina (65,303), California (57,739) and Georgia (44,351), according to the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey annual state file. The US total was 911,903.
Can a non-US investor finance a flip, bridge or construction project in these states?
Yes. Passy Capital lends to the investor's US LLC on the same terms as a US borrower, with no US credit history required: bridge up to 80% LTV, fix and flip and renovation up to 90% LTC, ground-up construction up to 85% LTC, loans from $1M to $5M, term sheet in 24 to 48 hours and closing in about two weeks on a clean file. Business-purpose, non-owner-occupied property only.
Methodology
Methodology and sources.
Every figure on this page is taken from the public release named next to it and was checked against that release on October 4, 2026. We do not model, adjust or forecast any of them. Where we show a share of a total, it is computed from the same source file. The only numbers of our own are Passy Capital's published loan terms in section 5.
- Foreign buyers (NAR).A survey of REALTORS on transactions with international clients, April 2025 to March 2026, covering existing homes. "Foreign buyers" include non-US citizens living abroad and recent immigrants or visa holders living in the US.
- Flipping (ATTOM). A flip is an arms-length sale of a single-family home or condo in the quarter where a previous arms-length sale of the same property occurred within the prior 12 months. Gross profit is resale price minus purchase price; it excludes rehab and other costs, which ATTOM says flipping veterans estimate at 20% to 33% of after-repair value. ATTOM notes that it expanded its property record coverage in 2026, so count-based metrics may reflect broader coverage as well as market activity.
- New construction (US Census Bureau). Housing units authorized by building permits in 2025, 1-unit structures, estimated totals including imputation for places that did not report. Permit value is the construction cost reported on the permit, not the sale price.
- Build-to-rent (RealPage). Units under construction, including properties in lease-up where construction continues, as of early May 2026 and August 2026.
Sources
- National Association of REALTORS, 2026 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate (news release, July 29, 2026)
- National Association of REALTORS, International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate (report page)
- ATTOM, U.S. Home Flipping Trends by State, Q2 2026 (October 2, 2026)
- ATTOM, Q2 2026 U.S. Home Flipping Report (October 1, 2026)
- US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, annual state data 2025 (st2025a)
- RealPage Market Analytics, South Region Developers Adding Another 37,400 Build-to-Rent Units to the Pipeline (May 20, 2026)
- RealPage Market Analytics, South Region Continues to Lead for Build-to-Rent Development (September 1, 2026)
This page is refreshed quarterly as the sources publish new releases. Updated October 4, 2026 · David Hodara, Founder, Passy Capital. To cite it: Passy Capital, "US Investment Property Financing in 2026: Foreign Buyers, Flips and New Construction by State", https://passycapital.com/us-investment-property-financing-data-2026, with the original source named for any figure you reuse.