BREAKING: Home Prices Just Plunged—Here’s Who’s Cashing In

Forget waiting for a crash—2025’s housing market just handed buyers a rare win. While Wall Street hedgies hoard rentals, a stealth cohort is locking in deals before the next Fed pivot.

Who’s buying? The 20% down brigade.

Conventional buyers with solid credit and cash reserves are slicing through inflated asking prices like a hot knife through institutional investors’ balance sheets. Sellers—staring down 7% mortgage rates and evaporating demand—are folding faster than a crypto exchange’s ‘risk management’ team.

Pro tip: That ‘starter home’ premium? Vanished. Today’s move-in ready 3/2s are trading at 2019 prices—assuming you’ve got the capital to bypass the loan-approval circus. (Bonus for cash buyers: watching boomer landlords panic-sell their ‘passive income’ portfolios.)

Bottom line: The housing correction isn’t coming—it’s here. And for once, the little guy’s holding the leverage. Just don’t expect your realtor to admit it.

Key Takeaways

• Due to the declining value of the dollar, U.S. housing can be cheaper for buyers paying with the Russian ruble, the Japanese yen, and the European euro.
• The U.S. dollar declined by 10% in the first six months of the year as some foreign currencies strengthened, giving buyers from those countries a discount of 5% or more on U.S. homes.
• U.S. home purchases by foreign buyers are up by 44%, as unaffordable conditions have priced many Americans out of the market.

When it comes to buying a house in the U.S. right now, you'd be better off if you were from Russia, Japan or Europe, according to a new report from Redfin.

The firm said typical home prices in the U.S. were up 1% in June to reach a record high of $447,035. However, due to a weakening U.S. dollar, homebuyers using foreign currencies actually got a discount of between 5% and 10% from the year prior, the report found.

No foreign buyers fared better than Russians, according to Redfin, as the median U.S. house price fell by 9.6% in rubles. Paying in the Swiss franc and Swedish krona yielded a savings of 8%, while the discount was 7.6% for Japanese yen and 5.6% for both the euro and the British pound.

The value of the U.S. dollar has fallen by more than 10% in the first six months of the year, due to concerns over tariffs, high levels of government debt, and a selloff of U.S. Treasury bonds.

“Some foreign buyers may be considering stepping back into the market now because their currencies have gained ground against the dollar,” said Chen Zhao, head of economic research at Redfin. “Their money simply goes further than it did a year ago. It’s like getting a discount that domestic buyers can’t access.”

More Foreign Buyers Come To The U.S. Housing Market

The National Association of Realtors found that the number of U.S. properties international buyers purchased between April 2024 and March 2025 was up by 44%, while the value of those homes also climbed. Foreign buyers paid an average purchase price of $494,400, a record high.

The buying spree from foreign purchasers comes as housing affordability remains out of reach for many Americans. Elevated mortgage rates and limited inventory have pushed housing prices higher. 

"International interest in buying U.S. real estate increased following the global economic recovery from several years of pandemic-related disruptions,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Foreign buyers are drawn to investing in American real estate, in part, by our country’s strong protection of private property rights."

While foreign buyers have poured into the market, most are from countries with currencies that aren't actually stronger than the dollar.

About 15% of foreign real estate investors are Chinese buyers, even as a weakening yuan makes home purchases slightly more expensive. A good chunk of U.S. buyers are also from Canada and Mexico. Both currencies have weakened against the dollar, making homes more expensive for those buyers.