International consumers purchased $121 billion in residential real estate from April 2017 to March 2018, according to a report from the National Association of REALTORS®, a decrease of 20 percent from the previous 12 months.

In the REALTOR® Magazine daily online article, “Foreign Buyers Lessen Their Investments in US Real Estate,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributes the decrease to low inventories, increasing prices and competition among buyers. The story also notes that foreign buyers tend to purchase more expensive homes than domestic buyers.

The story says the following five countries accounted for the majority of international residential sales in the United States: China, Canada, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Of those five countries, the United Kingdom had the highest percentage of international buyers in Illinois (9 percent) while Mexico had the second highest (6 percent). Get more details in the report, “Profile of International Activity in US Residential Real Estate.”