Real estate investors purchased 17% of homes sold during the third quarter, up by a scant 1% from a 16% share recorded one year earlier.
According to data from Redfin, the total investor home purchases came to roughly 52,000 transactions. Investors bought 1% more single-family homes compared to the third quarter of 2024, while they purchased 1% fewer condos and 4% fewer townhouses.
Nationwide, 8% of homes investors offloaded in the third quarter were sold at a loss, up from 6.5% a year earlier and the highest level in more than two years. The typical investor earned $182,688 in capital gains via selling a home, down roughly 1% year-over-year. This stands in stark contrast to the pandemic-era activity of late 2020 and early 2021 when investor capital gains were posting double-digit increases.
“Investor activity is stuck in neutral because profits are harder to come by, more homes are selling at a loss, and the rental market has softened,” said Sheharyar Bokhari, a senior economist at Redfin. “Investors aren’t completely retreating, but they’re not driving the housing market forward.”
