A sold sign placed in front of a home for sale in San Francisco, California, August 27, 2025.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
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Individual and institutional real estate investors purchased a third of all detached home properties sold in the second quarter of 2025. This was the highest rate in the last five years, up from 27% in the first quarter, according to a report by CJ Patrick, which used figures from real estate data provider Batch Data. 25.7% of home sales in 2024 came from investors.
Although the percentage of sales is high, the actual figures are low. While investors bought 16,000 homes in the second quarter of this year, overall home sales this year have dropped significantly from last year. This explains the increase in investor share. Investors continue to own approximately 20% of the 86 million detached homes in the country.
“Investors purchased more homes than they bought the homes they sold in the second quarter, but they actually sold over 104,000 homes, with 45% of that sale going to traditional home buyers,” said Ibo Draginoff, co-founder and chief innovation officer at BatchData. “So, in addition to continuing to play an important role in providing the liquidity needed for the sluggish home sales market, investors are also bringing coveted inventory into the market, both rental properties and owner-oriented homes.”
Large institutional investors continue to make up most of the talk of single-family rental spaces, while small investors make up more than 90% of the market. These are individuals who own less than 10 properties. The largest investors, who own more than 1,000 real estate units, account for just 2% of all investors’ homes.
Unlike individuals, institutional investors currently sell more homes than purchases, making it the sixth consecutive quarter. The largest landowner in the country Invited housing, Progress housing, American Holmes 4 Rent According to an analysis by Parcl Labs, in the third quarter of this year, both sold more homes than they bought.
“They are not withdrawing from this sector, they are simply diverting capital to the construction rental community. But this change means less competition for small investors and traditional home buyers, while also increasing the rental supply needed in today’s market, where young people often choose to rent because they can’t afford to buy a home.”
By region, Texas, California and Florida have the highest number of investor-owned homes. This is mainly because it is also the most populous state. The states with the highest proportion of investor-owned homes are Hawaii, Alaska, Montana and Maine. These are also tourist-rich states.
Investors have always been focusing on affordable housing. Because low-cost homes will earn you the best profits from resale in a few years. According to a report by CJ Patrick, investors paid average $455,481 per household in the second quarter of this year, well below the national average price of $512,800. However, this was the highest average investor price in the last six quarters as overall home prices continue to rise.
Investor housing is usually in smaller or cheaper housing markets. Large investors bought homes that were even cheaper than the entire pool, with an average purchase price of $279,889. The average selling price was $334,787. Institutional investors are most concentrated in the Midwest and South where prices fall below the national average.
