They are now the largest group of overseas buyers and have been snapping up cheap property in Florida where the market has been hard hit by foreclosures.
In the last year they have bought twice as many properties than the year before, according to the 2008 National Association of Realtors annual report on international buying in the US.
Canadians have replaced Mexicans as the top buyers. The surge in interest from Canada is put down to a combination of a stronger dollar, cheaper property and last winter's record snowfall prompting a surge of interest in Florida, the sunshine state.
'Condominiums were most popular among those foreign buyers from Canada,' the report says. Nearly half of all properties purchased by Canadians were apartments and 60% of purchases were in Florida and Arizona.
The amounts Canadians paid for their properties were relatively modest compared with other foreign purchasers. The median price was $277,800, well below the $450,000 paid by buyers from China, and less than the $297,000 paid by all foreign buyers.
Canadians were also more likely to pay cash with 69% choosing this payment method. This doesn't mean they are richer, the report notes. Canadians are not entitled to deduct mortgage interest payments, which makes it less attractive to take out a mortgage than it is for other nationalities.
But the report predicts the surge from Canada is unlikely to continue due to the recent retreat in the value of the Canadian dollar, slowing income growth in Canada, and a firming of US housing prices.
'However, over the longer term, an increasing number of retiring Baby Boomers seeking relief from the winter chill will ensure that Canadians continue to be major foreign buyers of US residential property for the foreseeable future,' it concludes.
