Lone Star Living

Home sales to international buyers in Texas surge past $18 billion in one year

From April 2016 to March 2017, more than 34,000 homes worth $18.66 billion were sold in Texas to buyers from across the globe.

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International homebuyers are flocking to the Lone Star State, according to a new report from the Texas Association of Realtors. From April 2016 to March 2017, more than 34,000 homes worth $18.66 billion were sold in Texas to buyers from across the globe, figures compiled in the Texas International Homebuyers Report indicate.

Sales of such residences in Texas were up 59 percent during that period and the dollar sales volume nearly doubled from the previous year.

Texas ranks No. 2, behind Florida and ahead of California, New Jersey and Arizona in the number of international home sales.

“This surge in international home sales activity underscores the growing reputation Texas has as a global destination for owning a home or investment property,” Vicki Fullerton, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, said in a statement. “The state’s low unemployment, diverse industry base and world class higher education institutions are just some of the reasons why international residents seek to attend college, raise a family or do business in Texas.”

Nearly half (43 percent) of Mexican homebuyers who purchased a home in the U.S. chose Texas. The Lone Star State also experienced a significant share of Chinese buyers, with 11 percent of international homebuyers from China purchasing a home in Texas, and 10 percent from India.

The report does not break down sales according to each Texas city, but big sales seems to be the case in the Houston area. "There’s so much movement coming into Texas," says longtime Houston Realtor John Daugherty. "The No. 1 population is coming from China. We see an incredible amount of international growth in this city in the next two to three years."

Nationwide, foreign buyers paid an average of $536,852 for a residence in the United States. The median purchase price was $302,300.

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Market Upset

Houston shocks as one of 10 worst big cities for first-time homebuyers

Row of houses in Houston, Houston homes for sale

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Houston is the worst Texas city for first-time buyers.

The Houston housing market may not be for everyone. In a surprising turn of events, Houston has flopped to the bottom of a new list of the best U.S. cities for first-time homebuyers.

WalletHub's new study — which analyzes the affordability, quality of life, and real estate market in 300 U.S. cities — ranks Houston No. 271, or the 30th worst city overall in the U.S. to buy your first home. And, when broken down by city size, WalletHub ranks Houston the 9th worst big city for first-time buyers (No. 61 out of 69).

Houston's lack of appeal for first-time buyers is essentially due to its poor affordability and quality of life scores, rather than the state of the city's housing market, according to the report's findings.

H-town ranks 216th out of all 300 U.S. cities for its affordability, and it appears farther down the list for its quality of life, landing 284th nationally. Houston's cost of living, however, is better than most cities, ranking 51st overall.

The city's real estate market ranking is among the top 100 in the U.S., at No. 91, but that wasn't enough to outweigh its less-than-stellar rankings in the other main categories.

Other metrics (where No. 1 is the best and No. 150 is average) that factored into Houston's overall ranking include:

No. 31 – Total home energy cost
No. 77 – Rent-to-price ratio
No. 99 – Median home-price appreciation
No. 148 – Foreclosure rate
No. 246 – Real estate tax rate
No. 270 – Property crime rates

While Houston boasts the lowest Texas ranking on the list, it isn't the only Lone Star city that is less than favorable for first-time buyers. In fact, only one Texas spot — the Dallas suburb of McKinney — lands among the top 100 of the report. A total of 20 Texas cities rank outside the top 100, with Laredo (No. 200), Mesquite (No. 202), San Antonio (No. 208), and Dallas (No. 233) joining Houston as the state's worst.

First-time buyers across the country are entering the housing market at a difficult time, the report says. The National Association of Realtors reported the share of first-time homebuyers sank to an all-time low in 2025, to 21 percent, whereas the historic national average is 40 percent.

"Buying a home for the first time is an exciting and important milestone for many Americans, but achieving that milestone is getting more difficult as prices and interest rates continue to rise," the report's author wrote. "People willing and able to invest in a house this year must balance what they want and need with what they can afford. Often, people begin searching for their dream home without a realistic idea of market prices, interest rates or even their eligibility for a mortgage."

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