International Capital Flows Drive US Real Estate Investment Despite Economic Headwinds

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

04 Sep 2025

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The narrative around foreign investment in US real estate has been dominated by headlines about declining interest and regulatory barriers. However, companies operating in this space are experiencing a different reality, one where global economic uncertainty is actually driving increased demand for American real estate assets.

Waltz, a lending platform specializing in foreign national mortgages, recently secured $25 million in additional debt capacity to support what Yuval Golan, Founder & CEO of Waltz, describes as robust international demand for US real estate investments. The funding brings the company’s total lending capacity to $1 billion over the next few years, reflecting growing appetite from international investors seeking stable assets amid global volatility.

“People like to invest into hard assets. They love passive income,” Golan explains. “When there’s instability, they buy real estate, which is bricks, they buy gold, they buy S&P 500. Because no matter how much stocks you have, people always need a place to live, and it’s a roof, and the roof pays rent.”

The Appeal of US Real Estate for International Investors

For many Americans, the attraction of US real estate to foreign investors may not be immediately apparent. However, Golan points to several fundamental drivers that make American properties particularly appealing to international capital.

Currency stability represents a primary concern for many international investors. “In Argentina, in the past two or three years, we’ve seen inflation. We’ve seen like a roller coaster of currency in Brazil, the same depending on change of government. In Colombia, there were terrible news recently,” Golan notes. “Every time there’s an extreme government coming or something a radical change, they bring the money into America.”

The appeal extends beyond currency concerns to broader economic stability. Even during downturns, US real estate maintains its attractiveness to international investors. “In 2009 when America crashed, this was the biggest boom of foreign investment into US real estate,” Golan observes. “Because it’s the largest economy in the world. Everyone wanted to recover. People saw a great opportunity.”

Geographic Demand Patterns

Current investment flows show distinct geographic preferences both in terms of source countries and target markets within the US. On the demand side, Waltz is seeing significant interest from Brazil, Colombia, Canada, Mexico, Israel, and the UK, with emerging interest from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

“The Brits are back. Because since Brexit now, the great British pound is stabilized, and they’re back investing,” Golan says, highlighting how currency stabilization directly translates to investment activity.

Within the US, investor preferences cluster around specific states. “We see people investing in Texas, in Florida, in the Carolinas, in Pennsylvania, in Ohio, Georgia, those are the major states we see traffic in,”according to Golan.

Expanding into Latin American Markets

Recognizing the significant opportunity in Latin American markets, Waltz has made a strategic push into Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries. However, the company took a methodical approach to this expansion.

“The idea initially was, we always knew that the major market is LATAM, but in order to provide a customized service for people from Latin America, we needed to test out the system, make everything is great, and then build from English service into Spanish and Portuguese,” Golan explains.

The company hired dedicated Spanish-speaking teams with expertise in both mortgage and real estate investment businesses. This careful approach addresses a fundamental challenge in Latin American markets: trust.

“In LATAM, it’s very complicated. People don’t trust the system, don’t trust the bank, don’t trust the lenders, and they don’t want to be the first,” Golan notes. “So the idea was to build success stories working with people that already did it. Work with reputable brands.”

Addressing Regulatory and Compliance Challenges

One of the key barriers to foreign investment in US real estate has been the complex web of regulatory requirements and compliance issues. Waltz has taken a proactive approach, investing heavily in legal and compliance infrastructure from the company’s early days.

“We were one of those companies that heavily invested in compliance and legal,” Golan explains. “Our idea was, we’re building a financial institution that has to be done carefully, diligently, legally, and we have to abide by all the laws.”

This approach required significant upfront investment. “Most of the CEOs in my stage are usually all day long doing biz dev and sales. I was digging into 6 to 10 hours a day legal and compliance,” Golan says. “We built that two or three years ahead of our first dollar earned intentionally.”

The company’s compliance framework addresses what Golan calls “the triangle,” validating the buyer, the property, and the property’s income potential. This includes identity verification, source of funds validation, property validation, and income verification.

Streamlining the Investment Process

Traditionally, the complexity of international real estate transactions has been a barrier to foreign investment. Waltz aims to simplify this by consolidating multiple services into a single platform.

“Assume that you’re a seller and I’m a buyer, and you have what you think your property is worth, and then I have what I think that property is worth,” Golan illustrates. “Now add to that the third party title company, a lender, an appraiser, an inspector, plus the underwriters and multiple people that have weekends, that get sick, they don’t want to go to work today.”

For foreign buyers, these complications multiply. “A foreigner might not understand the language, might not understand the culture. Their passport expires. They needs to go to an embassy to close a deal,” Golan explains. “All this chaos can be something that takes 3, 6, 9 months to close, while it takes 30 to 90 days for Americans.”

The solution is a “one stop shop experience,” similar to how Amazon simplified retail purchasing.

Market Dynamics and Investment Behavior

Waltz observes interesting foreign buyer behavior. “The first buy is kind of more an emotional buy. You need to build your trust and see it, then, if you’re a professional investor, usually the later ones are just excels and numbers,” Golan notes.

This progression from emotional to analytical reflects the maturation of international investors. Initial purchases often involve site visits, while subsequent investments rely on financial analysis and trusted relationships with local partners.

The company works with real estate agents, turnkey providers, property managers, and mortgage brokers to reach international investors, and has expanded to serve US-based investors who appreciate the streamlined process.

Looking Forward

Despite ongoing economic uncertainty and regulatory complexity, Waltz remains optimistic about the international investment market. The company’s recent funding round positions it to capitalize on what Golan sees as continued strong demand from international investors seeking stable, income-producing assets.

“It’s kind of a combined interesting time in history,” Golan observes. “Rates go down, everyone’s back to the market. Rates up, and inflation and high property prices, the savvy investors are in the market.”

This perspective challenges the prevailing narrative about declining foreign investment in US real estate. While regulatory hurdles and economic uncertainty exist, companies like Waltz are finding ways to navigate these challenges while serving a market fundamentally interested in American real estate assets.

For real estate professionals and investors, the international market represents both an opportunity and a complexity that requires specialized expertise to navigate effectively. As global economic conditions continue to evolve, the demand for streamlined, compliant pathways to US real estate investment is likely to remain strong.