Investors Held About 30% of U.S. Home Purchases in 2025—What That Means for Buyers

The headline number: investor share stayed elevated

Cotality’s investor purchase data, summarized by HousingWire, indicates real-estate investors accounted for about **30% of U.S. single-family home purchases through 2025**, up slightly from 29% in 2024. Even with softer overall sales compared with the peak years, a steady investor bid can keep competition intense in specific markets and price tiers. [housingwire.com]

One important detail is methodology: Cotality’s indicator focuses on **arm’s-length** purchases of **single-family detached homes and townhomes**, and it identifies an investor as a buyer with **three or more properties**. That definition is helpful for consistency, but it also means the results are not identical to “institutional” buying alone. [housingwire.com]

Who is driving investor buying

A recurring misconception is that the investor story is primarily about mega-scale buyers. In Cotality’s breakdown, **small** investors (fewer than 10 properties) and **medium** investors (10–99 properties) account for the bulk of investor activity, while **large and mega** investors (100+ properties, including 1,000+) make up a much smaller portion of total purchases. [housingwire.com]

In practice, investor advantages often show up as:

• **Financing flexibility** (including a higher likelihood of cash offers)
• **Pricing discipline** (willingness to walk if rents or resale comps don’t support the deal)
• **Speed and certainty** in closing, which can matter as much as headline price

Where investors show up most: volume vs share

Cotality highlights a nuance that’s easy to miss in market chatter: the metros with the highest number of investor purchases aren’t always the metros with the highest investor *share*. For example, the report lists **Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, and New York** among the top markets by total investor purchases. [housingwire.com]

But by *share*, some high-cost metros can rise to the top because owner-occupants pull back when affordability is strained. HousingWire notes that Cotality flagged parts of California—such as **San Jose** and **Los Angeles**—as having especially high investor shares, reflecting both investor activity and reduced participation from traditional buyers. [housingwire.com]

How this affects inventory and affordability

When investors consistently account for a large slice of purchases, the impact tends to be felt most directly in neighborhoods where they target similar homes as entry-level buyers: smaller single-family houses, townhomes, and properties that are easy to renovate or rent.

Even if investor buying doesn’t set national prices on its own, it can:

• Add competition for “move-in-ready” listings
• Keep pressure on lower-to-mid price tiers
• Reinforce rental demand when would-be buyers remain renters longer

What to watch next

Cotality’s update suggests investor share may remain relatively steady, with normal seasonality as owner-occupied activity changes through the year. [housingwire.com]

For readers trying to understand their own market, the best signals are local and specific:

• Investor presence in your target zip codes (not just the metro average)
• The share of **cash offers** you’re seeing in comparable listings
• Whether price reductions are increasing in the exact segment investors tend to buy

Practical takeaway

If you’re bidding in an investor-heavy segment, competitiveness often comes down to reducing friction—clean timelines, realistic contingencies, and confidence in the closing process—while staying disciplined on price so you don’t overpay in a market where many investors are themselves price-sensitive.