More than one-third of international real estate buyers in California come from China, says the California Association of Realtors 2014 International Home Buyers Survey.
Some 36% of overseas real estate purchases in California last year were to Chinese buyers, followed by 11% from Canada and 9.1% from Mexico. Buyers from the UK accounted for under 5% of the total.
Other interesting findings from the survey include the fact that nearly all international buyers purchasing in California (96%) own at least one other property. The median price paid by overseas buyers was $490,000, higher than the single-family median home price of $447,000 last year. Two-thirds of international buyers paid cash for their property.
The most popular destination for overseas buyers in California is Los Angeles (20%), followed by San Diego (9.3%) and Riverside County (9%). Just over half of buyers (54%) targeted South California, with 29% looking in North California and 18% elsewhere in the state.
