Investors were responsible for 11.3% of all home purchases during 2025, up from 11.0% in 2024, according to new data from Realtor.com.
Approximately 534,000 homes were purchased by investors in 2025, a 0.7% year-over-year increase. On the flip side, investors sold 442,000 properties last year, 1.5% fewer than the prior year and the lowest count since 2020.
“The investor market has found a new equilibrium,” said Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com. “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 – but that competition hasn’t gone away, particularly in affordable Midwest and Sun Belt markets.”
Small investors – defined as corporate entities with fewer than 10 total purchases – were responsible for nearly two-thirds (63%) of all investor purchases in 2025, the highest concentration of small-investor activity in more than 15 years. Small investors acquired approximately 53,000 more properties than they sold in 2025.
Among the 50 largest metros, Memphis (23.7%), Kansas City (21.2%), St. Louis (21.1%), Birmingham (21.0%) and Oklahoma City (17.9%) led the nation with investor activity
“Small investors are the stable floor beneath the more volatile institutional activity,” said Jones. “They purchase at a median of $330,000 nationally – about 25% below the overall market median of $440,000 – meaning they are systematically active in the entry-level tier where first-time buyers are also competing. In high-investor metros like Kansas City, that gap stretches to more than $100,000, making the overlap with first-time buyer budgets particularly acute.”
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