Canadians buying American homes in record numbers

Following the most recent U.S. presidential election, there was a lot of talk of Americans wanting to move north in record numbers, in order to escape the leadership of Donald Trump. In a twist of irony, however, it appears that it is actually Canadians that have been looking south in record numbers.

According to a report put together by the U.S.-based National Association of Realtors (NAR), Canadians bought property in America in higher volumes than ever before, spending at an all-time high of $19-billion U.S. Despite the relative weakness of the loonie compared to the American dollar right now, the two demographics of Canadians that were spurred to lead this charge were reportedly retirees who wanted to buy now down south—and weren't going to wait around for a more favourable market situation—and investors who were ready to cash out of the inordinately hot Toronto and Vancouver markets.

The flip side of coming from a hot urban market is that it opens the door for finding bargains elsewhere if someone does choose to cash out and sell. For a senior citizen who is ready for retirement, that makes it a lot more tempting than it already is to relocate to a permanently warm climate.

"If you look at the average price of real estate across the most major metropolitan markets globally, South Florida is an extraordinary bargain," said Jay Phillip Parker, a Canadian real estate agent running the Florida division for U.S. broker Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

After Florida, the next leading property destinations for Canadians in the U.S. were Arizona, California, Texas, and Georgia.

Even though Canadians bought American homes more frequently than ever in 2016-17, they still didn't account for the largest amount of international investment. That distinction goes to the Chinese, who spent $31.7-billion over the same window of time.