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Key Takeaways
- The number of Canadians searching for homes in the U.S. on Redfin was down 20% last month.
- Searches have dropped significantly from 2024, starting in February, when Trump announced a 25% tariff on Canadian goods. (It’s now 35%.)
- The biggest decline? Searches for West Palm Beach, Florida, a popular location for Canadians looking to buy winter vacation homes.
- A Gallup survey found over 4 in 5 Canadians disapprove of U.S. leadership, the most since Trump’s first term.
President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policy could be what’s pushing Canadian homebuyers to look outside the U.S. for homes.
The number of Canadians searching for American homes was down 20% year-over-year in August among users of real estate brokerage Redfin. Searches have fallen dramatically short of 2024 levels since February, when Trump announced a 25% tariff on Canadian goods (it’s now 35%). In April, the month of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day,’ searches were down by more than a third.
The drop was the steepest in West Palm Beach, Florida, long a popular locale for Canadian snowbirds looking to purchase winter property. Searches there fell 27%, with other Sunshine State hotspots Tampa and Orlando not far behind at 23% each, Redfin found.
Canadians Historically Lead Foreign Buyers
Canadians made up 13% of all international homebuyers in the U.S., leading all countries, according to the National Association of Realtors. Canada’s $5.9 billion in real estate purchases trailed only buyers in China.
Now, some Canadians are electing to exit the U.S. market entirely.
“One Canadian client is in the process of selling his last U.S. property because he no longer sees it as a good place to invest or vacation,” Redfin agent Cheryl Van Elsis said. “He used to own four homes in the Las Vegas area, which he mainly rented to fellow Canadians here for casinos or poker events. But now, he no longer wants ties to the U.S.”
He’s not the only one with frustrations. A Gallup poll conducted in May and June found that 85% of Canadians disapproved of U.S. leadership—the most negative feelings Canadians have had about Washington since Trump’s first term.
Note
Canada is currently subject to a 35% tariff on all goods not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Canada imposed a retaliatory 25% tariff on U.S. goods in March but removed the bulk of its import levies starting on September 1.
The Bottom Line
Fewer Canadians are looking for homes in the U.S. compared to 2024, according to data from Redfin. Some of the sharpest declines have been in Florida, where Canadians often buy second homes and rental properties in the winter. The drop in searches has coincided with Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on America’s neighbor to the north, and a recent poll found that 85% of Canadians disapprove of U.S. leadership.
