With political turmoil heating up in the United States and ongoing tensions between our two nations, a growing number of Canadians are ‘buying local’ and curbing travel to the south. What’s more, those who own residential real estate in the U.S. are rethinking their long-term plans – some already have.
According to a recent Royal LePage survey, conducted by Burson,1 more than half (54%) of Canadians who currently own residential property in the U.S. say they are planning to sell within the next year, among whom a majority (62%) credit the current political administration as the main reason. Meanwhile, 33% of them say they are motivated by other factors, such as personal and financial reasons, and another five per cent say it is due to increasingly extreme weather conditions, like hurricanes, flooding and forest fires.
“The polarizing political climate in the United States is prompting many Canadians to reconsider how and where they spend their time and money,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. “Canadians have been the most important foreign investors in America’s residential real estate market for years, and a significant wave of property sales would leave a noticeable mark on the regional economies that snowbirds support.
“While wealthy buyers from China and other nations also spend a great deal on American residential real estate, purchasing expensive properties in major cities as investments, Canadians actually live in the neighbourhoods where they buy. They shop locally, dine out, volunteer and join pickleball leagues. Places like Florida, Arizona and California stand to lose millions in economic activity each year – and thousands of neighbours – if Canadian owners pull their capital from U.S. housing markets.”
Of those who sold their property south of the border within the last year, forty-four per cent say it was due to the current political administration, while 27% say it was for personal reasons, and 22% because of increasingly extreme weather conditions.
“Not every decision to sell is politically driven. For many, the decision to divest will be due to changing personal circumstances, from reprioritizing financial goals to the simple decision to invest closer to home,” continued Soper. “For some, the upkeep and distance of a U.S. property has become more burden than benefit, and uncertainty around shifting, murky border rules is yet another layer of stress. For years, Canadians rarely gave the American border a second thought on their way to a winter break in the south. Now, many fear that easy neighbourly travel can no longer be taken for granted.”
Investment in U.S. real estate by Canadians on the decline
According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), Canadians have been among the top two largest contributors of foreign investment in U.S. real estate for the last two decades, although transactions have been significantly lower the last five years compared to the majority of the 2010s. Overall, real estate professionals in the U.S. have reported more than twice as many residential property sales by international clients over the last year, the largest group of whom are Canadians.
“With so many Canadians citing concerns about the U.S. administration as a key reason for divesting, it’s evident that political instability is no longer just a talking point – it’s a catalyst for change,” said Soper. “This shift in sentiment is reshaping how Canadians think about cross-border investment. As uncertainty continues to cloud the U.S. political landscape, we anticipate more Canadians will redirect their capital into domestic real estate, reinforcing long-term confidence in Canada’s housing market and creating new opportunities for growth closer to home.”
When asked if they plan to reinvest the proceeds of the sale of their U.S. home into the Canadian real estate market, almost one third (32%) of respondents who have recently sold or are planning to sell within the next year answered ‘yes’.
U.S. web traffic to royallepage.ca surges during key political moments
It’s not just Canadians reconsidering their ties to the U.S. – many Americans are looking north as political tensions escalate at home.
Sessions originating from the U.S. to royallepage.ca – Canada’s most-visited real estate company website – have spiked significantly during key political events over the past year. In Week 24 of 2025 (week of June 8th), U.S.-based web traffic jumped 116% year over year and 84% week over week, coinciding with widespread protests in Los Angeles, following U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
This is not the first time this behaviour has emerged. Following the 2024 U.S. presidential election, web traffic from American users increased significantly. On November 6th, the day after Trump was elected president for a second term, sessions originating from the U.S. jumped by 52%. Overall, traffic during election week (Week 45, week of November 3rd) rose 70% year over year, highlighting increased cross-border interest in Canadian real estate.
Another prominent surge occurred in Week 26 of 2024 (week of June 23rd), immediately following the first presidential debate between former president Joe Biden and now-president Donald Trump. During that week, U.S. traffic to the site rose 112% over Week 24 and 94% year over year.
Read the full press release and review the data chart for more details:
1 An online survey of 2,500 adult residents across Canada. The survey was completed between August 4 and August 9, 2025. Age, gender, and regional weighting was applied to ensure representation at a national level according to 2021 census figures. See methodology for more information.
