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Real estate investors are offloading homes at a record pace, but not to cash in. They’re trying to stem losses as the housing market cools and rental prices soften, a new report from Realtor.com found.
In 2024, investors accounted for 11 percent of all U.S. home sales, which is the highest share seen in over two decades. That translated to about 509,000 properties sold, fewer than the levels seen in 2021 and 2022, but a sharp increase from pre-COVID levels. The median sale price for these homes was $330,000, the Realtor.com data shows.
Hannah Jones | Credit: LinkedIn
“The reason behind investor sales has shifted since the [COVID-19] pandemic heyday,” Realtor.com Senior Economic Research Analyst Hannah Jones wrote in the report. “Investors may no longer be selling to cash in on soaring home values, but rather due to market softening and easing rents.”
The Midwest and South — two of the most affordable U.S. regions — are seeing the most investor offloads. The top five investor seller states were Missouri (16.7 percent), Oklahoma (16.7 percent), Georgia (15.9 percent), Kansas (14.3 percent) and Utah (14.3 percent).
Interestingly, those same states also ranked among the top markets for investor buyers, which suggests these areas are still considered ripe for rental income despite current offloading efforts. They offer relatively affordable home prices but above-average rents, which is a key formula for investors.
The change in investor activity isn’t isolated to one type of investor either. From mom-and-pop landlords to industry giants, all investor groups sold more homes in 2024 than they did the year prior.
- Small investors who bought fewer than 10 homes offloaded 270,000 properties in 2024, the third highest figure since Realtor.com began collecting the data, behind 2021 and 2022.
- Medium-sized investors who own between 10 and 50 homes saw their buying-to-selling margin shrink to fewer than 250 homes, a massive drop from the 25,000 margin seen in 2022.
- Large investors with 50 or more properties sold 123,800 homes and purchased just 8,700 more than they sold, a sharp contrast to their 134,000 home margin at the peak in 2021.
Despite the sell-off, investor buying hasn’t disappeared. In fact, it ticked up slightly, with 13 percent of all 2024 home purchases made by investors, up from 12.7 percent in 2023.
“Though modest, this increase in investor home purchases came at a time when overall home purchasing slumped, resulting in an uptick in investor buyer share,” Jones said.
On average, investor purchases were priced around $282,000, more than $70,000 below the national median.
Though investor buyers can help increase rental availability, their presence in the market often tightens inventory for those trying to purchase a home. And while all investor types still bought more homes than they sold last year, the margin is shrinking fast.
“As a result, budget-conscious buyers often find themselves in direct competition with investors for the most affordable properties, a contest many are unable to win,” Jones added.
