Where in the United States? Destinations for Europeans

The loan depends on your status. Almost everything else depends on the place: property tax, taxes at closing, insurance, and whether you may let the home at all.

Fifty states, thousands of local rule books

In Massachusetts each town sets its own property tax and an attorney takes part in every closing. In Florida the tax bill resets when you buy and insurance decides affordability. In New York City most flats are shares in a corporation. Each guide below sets out what a buyer from Europe needs to know, with every figure traced to an official or neutral source.

How status decides the loan Start a mortgage scan

New England

Universities, hospitals and biotech around Boston, summer homes on the Cape and the Islands, and Providence an hour to the south.

Historic red-brick town houses in Boston, Massachusetts

New England

Massachusetts

Property tax set town by town, attorney-led closings, and state rules on septic systems, lead paint and estate tax that surprise second-home buyers.

Boston skyline reflected in the pond of the Public Garden

New England

Boston, Cambridge and the suburbs

A median price near $860,000, property tax that changes at every town line, and an exemption that only owner-occupiers receive.

Shingled houses and a lighthouse on the Cape Cod shoreline

New England

Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket

Holiday-home country with low tax rates and high prices, a 2% land bank fee on the islands, septic rules and coastal insurance to plan for.

Providence, Rhode Island, skyline along the river in autumn

New England

Rhode Island and Providence

Lower prices than Boston, a property tax system that favours owner-occupiers, and new state taxes aimed at second homes and short lets.

Florida

The first choice of foreign buyers in the United States, for relocation, winter homes and holiday rentals.

Aerial view of homes and tree-lined streets in Lake Mary, Florida

Florida

Florida

The top state for foreign buyers. No income tax, but property tax that resets when you buy, insurance to arrange early and rental rules set street by street.

Waterfront apartment towers on the Miami skyline

Florida

Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach

The top US market for foreign buyers. Houses around $650,000 to $680,000, a year of unsold condos in Miami-Dade, and lenders that scrutinise every building.

Family homes beside a lake in Orlando, Florida

Florida

Orlando and Central Florida

Median prices around $439,000, direct flights to Europe, and short-term rental zoning that differs between the city, Orange County and Osceola County.

Tampa skyline and the Hillsborough River in Florida

Florida

Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater

Median houses at $410,000, four European routes from Tampa airport, monthly minimum lets in Clearwater and real flood exposure after the 2024 hurricanes.

Waterfront homes with private docks in Sarasota, Florida

Florida

Sarasota, Bradenton and Anna Maria Island

Gulf Coast homes around $470,000 to $495,000, minimum-stay rules that differ between city, county and island, and district fees in planned communities.

Waterfront homes along residential canals seen from the air

Florida

Naples, Fort Myers and Cape Coral

Florida's most German market. Cape Coral houses at $380,000, Naples at $760,000, a utility charge of over $33,000 on some plots, and flood rules after Hurricane Ian.

Colourful wooden houses and palm trees on a street in Key West, Florida

Florida

The Florida Keys

A housing stock limited by hurricane evacuation law, wind insurance through Citizens, flood elevation rules and a 28-day threshold for holiday lets.

Washington, New York and Philadelphia

The corridor where most international postings land: government and international organisations, finance, universities and pharma.

Rosslyn skyline in Arlington, Virginia, seen across the Potomac River

Mid-Atlantic

Northern Virginia and Washington DC

Median prices of $680,000 to $770,000, tax rates that differ on each side of the Potomac, a yearly car tax in Virginia and strict limits on short-term letting.

Tree-lined street of brownstone houses in Brooklyn, New York

New York

New York City

Co-op or condo, a mansion tax from $1 million, mortgage recording tax of about 2%, and a new yearly surcharge on apartments that are not a primary residence.

Skyline of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on a clear day

Mid-Atlantic

Philadelphia

A metro median of $425,000, a 4.578% transfer tax usually split with the seller, a wage tax on city earnings and a tax abatement on new homes.

California, Arizona and Washington State

Technology, entertainment, aerospace and universities on the Pacific coast, and a winter-sun and semiconductor market in Arizona. Prices are high on the coast, and earthquake, wildfire and water rules shape what a home costs to own.

Los Angeles skyline seen from the hills beneath a wide blue sky with soft clouds

California

Los Angeles and Orange County

A county median near $947,000, a property tax set by the year you buy, and earthquake and fire insurance to settle before you offer.

Golden Gate Bridge red tower and suspension cables against a blue sky above San Francisco Bay

California

San Francisco and Silicon Valley

Median houses from $1.3 million to $2.3 million across four counties, jumbo loans, property tax that resets at your purchase price, and earthquake cover with large deductibles.

Aerial view of Seattle homes, a bridge across the lake and the downtown skyline

Washington State

Seattle and the Eastside

A King County median near $845,000, no state income tax today, an estate tax that reaches non-residents, and earthquake cover that is bought separately.

Houses on a desert hillside above Phoenix at golden sunset, with distant mountains and hazy valley

Arizona

Phoenix and Scottsdale

A median asking price near $475,000, property tax around 0.44% of value, and water, heat and holiday letting rules that vary by community.

Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas and Chicago

Large corporate-relocation markets with lower prices than the coasts, no or low state income tax in most of them, and property tax, flood and storm insurance and closing customs that differ a great deal from state to state.

Houston skyline behind a white bridge over a calm bayou lined with trees

Texas

Houston and the Gulf Coast suburbs

A median house near $330,000, property tax of about 1.5% of value, MUD districts in new suburbs, and flood risk that every buyer should check.

Fort Worth skyline and bridges over the Trinity River at sunset, with cyclists on the path

Texas

Dallas-Fort Worth

Corporate relocations, a Dallas median near $449,000, Texas property tax that varies by school district, hail insurance and the 2025 foreign-buyer law.

Atlanta skyline rising above a wide canopy of green trees under a blue sky

Georgia

Atlanta and the suburbs

A median sale price near $400,000, an attorney at every closing, property tax assessed at 40% of value and a flat 4.99% state income tax.

Raleigh skyline rising above a green tree canopy under a blue sky with clouds

North Carolina

Charlotte, Raleigh and the Triangle

A median near $428,000 in the Charlotte region, county revaluations in 2027, closings run by an attorney and a flat state income tax of 3.99%.

Chicago skyline along Lake Michigan under a blue sky with scattered white clouds

Illinois

Chicago and the suburbs

A city median near $426,000, property tax that is reassessed in three-year cycles, attorneys at closing and short-let rules that depend on the building.

Looking somewhere else?

Our guidance covers the whole country, and more location guides are on the way. Every other state follows the same order of steps: your status first, then the loan, the cash you need and the running costs of the area. Tell us where you are looking in the mortgage scan and we will start from there.