Canadians are becoming less active in the US housing market amid ongoing tariff chaos
As political tensions between the United States and Canada escalate, Canadian interest in US residential real estate is cooling. Once the leading foreign buyers of American homes, Canadians are increasingly retreating from the market due to inflammatory rhetoric from the White House and economic strains from heightened trade disputes, a report from USA Today highlighted.
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Canadians comprised 13% of foreign purchases of US homes in 2024, followed by China and Mexico at 11% each. However, real estate professionals are now reporting a shift.
“I never expected to see anything like this,” said Miles Zimbaluk, a Canadian who settled in Arizona and runs real estate services firms Canada to USA and Cross Border Insurance. “People have absolutely been turned off by the talk of annexation.”
Zimbaluk noted that over 700 homes in Maricopa County were listed by Canadian owners in the first quarter of 2025, a stark increase from 100 the same time last year. Canadians own approximately 30,000 properties in the county.
Data from Realtor.com also indicates a drop in online interest. While Canadians remained the top foreign viewers of US listings in early 2025, their share fell to 34.7% from 40.7% in 2024. Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com, said Canadians tend to focus on warm, low-tax metros such as Arizona and Florida, targeting higher-end second homes. She considers this segment worth monitoring amid shifting market trends.
The cooling Canadian demand coincides with a broader slowdown in the US housing market. April 2025 saw the slowest existing-home sales for that month since 2009, with figures below 4.06 million units—lower than the already weak 2024 total.
South Florida broker Jeff Lichtenstein said Canadian buyers are “absolutely” pulling back. “Some of it is uncertainty, some of it is not feeling as welcome,” he told USA Today, citing the overall tone of US politics and its impact on buyer sentiment.
Canada’s economy is also under stress. Oxford Economics reported that the nation has likely entered a recession driven by US tariffs. Analysts expect job losses and reduced consumer confidence to curb household spending, including real estate investments abroad.
“There’s just so much uncertainty,” said Zimbaluk. “Everyone is trying to find their own way.”
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