Mexico tops list for Canadian homebuyers’ interest in foreign properties

Posted on September 7, 2023

Mexico is tops among Canadians who are interested in purchasing real estate in the Americas, a new survey has found.

Point2homes.com is a leading provider of marketing solutions for real estate agents and brokers globally, and it analyzed Google search data among Canadians seeking homes in popular destinations in North and South America.

As with previous studies released in recent years by Point2, Mexico ranked first, averaging more than 30,000 searches per month by Canadians interested in purchasing real estate in the past year.

That said, the report noted the volume of searches dropped 24 per cent year over year.

The United States saw an even larger decline of 40 per cent, the survey found, with about 11,000 searches per month. That was enough to drop it out of second spot last year to third this time around.

Taking its place in second this year is Costa Rica with about 14,500 searches per month, even though it also saw searches fall 20 per cent from last year.

The Point2 survey looked at 30 destinations across the Americas, finding less activity than last year in 23 nations.

Among the seven that saw increases in interest year over year were Barbados, U.S. Virgin Islands, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana and Argentina.

Barbados searches grew 17 per cent year over year with about 11,000 monthly searches, while Argentina saw the largest jump at 60 per cent — though it averages only about 670 searches per month by Canadians.

Point2 pointed to the drop in search activity likely being a result of challenging economic conditions.

It further cited as evidence falling U.S. sales by international buyers, which hit its lowest level since 2009. As well, the study noted Canadians are the second largest segment of international buyers in the U.S., accounting for about $6.6 billion in transactions.

The top U.S. buyers are from China, generating about $13.6 billion in sales volume.