Realtor.com: Investor home purchase activity was stable in 2025

Investor activity in the U.S. housing market remained resilient in 2025 even as overall home sales fell to one of their lowest levels in decades, according to a report released Tuesday by Realtor.com.

Investors purchased roughly 534,000 homes last year, a 0.7% increase from 2024, while their share of all home purchases rose to 11.3%, up from 11% the prior year, according to the report.

By comparison, home purchases by non-investors declined 2.1% year over year.

At the same time, investors sold fewer properties for the first time in two years. Investor sales fell 1.5% to 442,000 homes, the lowest level since 2020, suggesting that investors are no longer shedding properties accumulated during the pandemic-era housing boom.

“The investor market has found a new equilibrium,” Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement. “With small investors now comprising nearly two-thirds of all investor purchases and large institutional players continuing to pull back, the dynamics shaping competition in entry-level housing are shifting.”

The report found that investor activity has remained stronger than the broader housing market since the COVID-19 pandemic. While overall home sales are down more than 25% from their 2021-2022 peak, investor purchases have declined by a smaller figure of 22.6%. Compared with pre-pandemic levels, overall home sales have fallen 14.3%, while investor acquisitions have increased 14.6%.

Investor sales also moderated in 2025. Although investors accounted for 9.3% of all home sellers, matching their share from 2024, the total number of investor sales declined. As a result, net investor accumulation widened to about 92,000 homes, up from roughly 80,000 in 2024.

The composition of investor activity continued to shift away from large institutional buyers. Mega investors, defined as those making 350 or more purchases annually, accounted for just 7.5% of investor purchases in 2025, their lowest share since 2011. Their purchase volumes have fallen nearly 70% from the peak reached during the pandemic-era housing boom.

Meanwhile, small investors — categorized as entities making fewer than 10 purchases per year — increased their share of investor purchases to about 63%, the highest level in more than 15 years. Realtor.com said small investors remained net buyers, purchasing approximately 53,000 more properties than they sold last year.

Jones said small investors are concentrated in lower-priced segments of the market, where they often compete directly with first-time homebuyers.

Nationally, small investors purchased homes at a median price of $330,000, compared with the overall market median of $440,000, according to the report.

Investor activity remained concentrated in several Midwest and Sun Belt markets. Among the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, Memphis, Tennessee, posted the highest investor buyer share at 23.7%, followed by Kansas City at 21.2%; St. Louis at 21.1%; Birmingham, Alabama, at 21%; and Oklahoma City at 17.9%.

Las Vegas and Birmingham recorded some of the largest increases in investor buying activity from a year earlier, while San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth remained among the most active investor markets.

By contrast, several high-cost West Coast and Northeast markets saw relatively limited investor participation. Portland, Oregon; Sacramento; and Hartford, Connecticut, each posted investor buyer shares well below the national average.

Atlanta represented one of the most significant reversals, according to the report. Once among the nation’s most investor-heavy markets, investor purchases accounted for just 10% of home sales in 2025, below pre-pandemic levels. Investors were net sellers in the metro area by nearly 1,800 homes, the largest negative net position among major markets.

Realtor.com said investor activity appears to have stabilized at an elevated level, with investor purchase shares remaining above 11% for three consecutive years.

The report suggests that while large institutional investors have retreated, the growing role of smaller investors may help sustain current levels of investor participation in the housing market.

This article was generated using HousingWire Automation and reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication.