The Top Spots For U.S. Homebuyers Looking Abroad

Did you know we have a sister newsletter that focuses solely on Canada? It’s called The Bacon. You can sign up for it and our other newsletters here. 

Don’t look now, but the price-to-earnings ratios are low and the dividend yields are high on the Canadian bank stocks that populate today’s Trackstar top five. 

• Royal Bank of Canada (RY): P/E, 11.9, dividend yield, 4.4%
• Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS): P/E, 10.0, dividend yield, 6.6%
• Toronto Dominion Bank (TD): P/E, 10.8, dividend yield, 4.6%
• Bank of Montreal (BMO): P/E, 11.5, dividend yield, 5.1%
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM): P/E, 10.7, dividend yield, 6.5%

Just a thought that requires further investigation on your part. Maybe The Bacon can help. Because not only do you have to consider taxes when investing in Canadian dividend stocks if you pay taxes in the United States (assuming you’re reading from the U.S.), but Canada is experiencing many of the same economic issues as the U.S., particularly on housing. 

Why are we thinking about Canada? It’s not hockey season yet. And it’s pretty easy to get Canadian beer in American supermarkets these days. 

We’re thinking about Canada because it’s #2 on Point2Homes list of the top destinations – in the Americas – for prospective U.S. homebuyers. 

This past Thursday, The Juice considered the top five U.S. cities homebuyers are considering for more affordable housing. As we mentioned then, if you have moved or are thinking about moving so that you can buy a home or secure a more affordable housing situation, please send us a note. We might like to feature you in a future edition of The Juice.

We’d also love to hear from you if you’re considering purchasing property abroad. Maybe you’re doing it in pursuit of affordable housing. Maybe it’s for retirement, vacation, investment or a mix of some or all of the above. 

It’s interesting that Canada came in second. Point2Homes’ research reveals that after a drop between 2001 and 2022, real estate-related search interest in Canada, from the U.S., increased by 54% over the last year. Do you think it could have anything to do with politics? 

We’ll stay away from that frenzy. But we will say, Canada ain’t cheap. Consider these Canadian provinces and their average home prices, as of July 2023:

• British Columbia: $967,948
• Ontario: $856,269
• Quebec: $479,004
• Alberta: $455,923
• Nova Scotia: $435,293
• Prince Edward Island: $402,6
• Saskatchewan: $305,669
• Newfoundland and Labrador: $304,765

And more than 60% of the searches investigated Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa. Canada’s largest and, generally, most expensive cities. 

No surprise that #1 on the list comes from south of the border. Mexico only experienced a 3% increase in search interest between 2022 and 2023 – after a 60% the previous year – however, it remains the perennial number one. 

Among the most popular Mexican destinations Americans are dreaming of? Same as it ever was: Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Tulum and Merida.

Rounding out the top ten:

3. Costa Rica
4. Puerto Rico
5. Belize
6. Panama
7. Bahamas
8. Dominican Republic
9. U.S. Virgin Islands
10. Jamaica

While the analysis didn’t quite parse out exactly the type of property ownership situation people are seeking in these places, it did make some interesting observations:

• Just under 65% of the people searching for homes abroad in the Americas are between the ages of 25 and 54. 
• Surprisingly, 18-to-24 year olds are searching Mexico more than the 65-and-older crowd. 
• More than 10% of the Mexican searches are for vacant land, implying people are either speculating or looking to custom build their own abode. 

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention some of the places that ranked at the bottom of the list. They include Curaçao, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Peru, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Brazil, Argentina and Bermuda. 

The Bottom Line: As we consider this and so much of the other housing and consumer-related economic data we cover regularly in The Juice, we can’t help but think how intriguing our society has become. 

It’s crazy. You have a massive cohort of Americans locked into relatively incredible housing situations with low interest rates secured before prices went completely bonkers. Some say they feel trapped in their homes! 

Then there are the people priced out of the 2023 housing market altogether. 

Don’t forget about remote workers with digital nomad dreams. Maybe some of the people in that 18-to-24 year old demo. 

Then there are the relatively well-off looking for second, vacation or retirement homes in sunny places outside of the United States. Not to mention, the handful of folks seeking “political asylum” north of the border!

Here again, if you send us a note about your situation, let us know the category you fall into. It might be one we didn’t list here.

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