Canadian buyers flock to U.S. real estate for better returns

"AI Summary Trade wars. Tariffs. Trump. Since the start of 2025, the media has been hyper-focused on the three Ts. The relationship between the U.S. and Canada has been portrayed as adversarial, and one that's created a chasm between traditionally close friends on the world stage. Despite the headlines, Canadians are flocking to U.S. real estate. What's driving this movement? Some reasons are obvious, but there's much more beneath the surface than you might expect."

"Canada shares a vast border with the United States, speaks a common language, and enjoys many cultural similarities. A significant proportion of the Canadian population lives close to the U.S. border, so proximity to states like Ohio and Michigan makes investing in the U.S. feel like investing in their own backyard. The U.S. also offers popular Canadian vacation and snowbird destinations. It's natural that they would look at real estate in areas near where they vacation as they already know those markets."

"You'll often see Arizona and Florida as top states for Canadians in the NAR reports for exactly this reason. It's no secret that the U.S. dollar has historically been stronger than the Canadian dollar. On average, over the last five years, one Canadian dollar has been worth $0.75. Moving money to the U.S. may seem counterintuitive, but relative to major cities in Canada, such as Toronto and Vancouver, U.S. property prices enable Canadian dollars to go further."

Since the start of 2025, media attention concentrated on trade wars, tariffs and political tensions between the U.S. and Canada, yet Canadians continued to buy U.S. real estate. The 2025 National Association of Realtors report shows Canadians accounted for 14% of international U.S. property purchases, the highest share since 2015. Proximity, shared language and cultural similarities make U.S. markets feel accessible, with Ohio, Michigan, Arizona and Florida popular destinations. A historically stronger U.S. dollar combined with lower U.S. property prices relative to Toronto and Vancouver lets Canadian dollars purchase more U.S. property. Better returns, varied mortgage products and wealth preservation also drove investment.

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