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Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
Based on a recent study by the National Association of Realtors (which is a study based on realtor surveys), foreign buyers bought approximately $56 billion worth of residential real estate in the US between April 2024 and March 2025. This represents about 2.5% of all existing-home sales and is the first year-over-year increase since 2017.
Based on a recent study by the National Association of Realtors (which is a study based on realtor surveys), foreign buyers bought approximately $56 billion worth of residential real estate in the US between April 2024 and March 2025. This represents about 2.5% of all existing-home sales and is the first year-over-year increase since 2017.
56% of these purchases were by people who legally reside in the US but who are not US citizens. And the remaining 44% were by foreign buyers who live abroad.
Here are the top 5 countries of origin:
China: 15%; 11,700; $13.7 billion
Canada: 14%; 10,900; $6.2 billion
Mexico: 8%; 6,200; $4.4 billion
India: 6%; 4,700; $2.2 billion
United Kingdom: 4%; 3,100; $2 billion
And here are the top 5 destinations:
Florida: 21%
California: 15%
Texas: 10%
New York: 7%
Arizona: 5%
What is clear is that foreign demand has fallen dramatically since 2017. This is likely due to stronger capital controls on money leaving China, a stronger US dollar, rising home prices, and other factors. It's worth noting that this data is up until March 2025 — so right before "Liberation Day." It'll be interesting to see the effects of the current geopolitical climate on next year's data.
Also interesting is the fact that if you go back to the 2008 financial crisis, Canadians made up almost a quarter of all foreign buyers. Let's call it 2008 to 2013. This is not surprising. Our economy fared better during the crisis and the Canadian and US dollars were near parity. It was an ideal time for Canadians to buy and, those who did, ultimately benefited from USD appreciation.
Foreigners buying homes tends not to be politically popular, especially when people are concerned about housing affordability. So I can't imagine that too many people are fussed by the fall off in demand since 2017. Still, it's a bellwether for global capital flows, confidence in the US economy, and wealth being created — or not be created — abroad.
Charts from the National Association of Realtors; cover photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash
56% of these purchases were by people who legally reside in the US but who are not US citizens. And the remaining 44% were by foreign buyers who live abroad.
Here are the top 5 countries of origin:
China: 15%; 11,700; $13.7 billion
Canada: 14%; 10,900; $6.2 billion
Mexico: 8%; 6,200; $4.4 billion
India: 6%; 4,700; $2.2 billion
United Kingdom: 4%; 3,100; $2 billion
And here are the top 5 destinations:
Florida: 21%
California: 15%
Texas: 10%
New York: 7%
Arizona: 5%
What is clear is that foreign demand has fallen dramatically since 2017. This is likely due to stronger capital controls on money leaving China, a stronger US dollar, rising home prices, and other factors. It's worth noting that this data is up until March 2025 — so right before "Liberation Day." It'll be interesting to see the effects of the current geopolitical climate on next year's data.
Also interesting is the fact that if you go back to the 2008 financial crisis, Canadians made up almost a quarter of all foreign buyers. Let's call it 2008 to 2013. This is not surprising. Our economy fared better during the crisis and the Canadian and US dollars were near parity. It was an ideal time for Canadians to buy and, those who did, ultimately benefited from USD appreciation.
Foreigners buying homes tends not to be politically popular, especially when people are concerned about housing affordability. So I can't imagine that too many people are fussed by the fall off in demand since 2017. Still, it's a bellwether for global capital flows, confidence in the US economy, and wealth being created — or not be created — abroad.
Charts from the National Association of Realtors; cover photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash
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Your data-driven approach provides a much-needed clarification in what is often a purely emotional debate. The distinction you draw between the small overall market percentage and the outsized impact on the high-end, all-cash segment is a crucial one. I believe this concentration at the luxury tier can also have a "price anchoring" effect on local markets, even if the total transaction volume is low. It subtly redefines the ceiling for high-end properties, which can have ripple effects.
The foreigners buying homes in the US https://brandondonnelly.com/the-foreigners-buying-homes-in-the-us