From Cotality:
Investors maintain 30% market share entering 2026
Cotality, a leading global property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its latest update on investor activity in the U.S. Housing Market.
Persistent housing unaffordability continues to sideline owner-occupant buyers while simultaneously fueling robust rental demand. At the close of 2025, investor activity remained stable, accounting for 30% of all single-family home purchases—a slight increase from the 29% share recorded at the end of 2024.
“Fewer first-time homebuyers mean more people are staying in the rental market, and investors are responding to that demand,” said Thom Malone, Principal Economist at Cotality. “The current landscape differs significantly from the pandemic-era surge, which was fueled by rapid price appreciation. Now, while real estate is no longer the ‘hottest’ asset, strong rental demand and the ability to secure acquisitions below list price are keeping investors engaged even as traditional buyers retreat.”
Through late 2025, investor activity remained steady, averaging 80,000 to 100,000 monthly purchases—a pace consistent with 2024 levels. While overall sales volume has dipped since 2021, investors have proven far more resilient than traditional buyers. In just four years, the gap between owner-occupied buyers and investor purchases narrowed from 270,000 to 110,000 units. This resilience is largely attributed to the prevalence of all-cash offers, which allow investors to bypass elevated interest rates and secure deeper discounts.
The single-family residential market continues to be anchored by small (owning fewer than 10 properties) and medium-sized investors (10-99 properties), whose collective activity accounts for nearly one-quarter of all U.S. home purchases. While large (100–999 properties) and mega-scale investors (1,000+) command a smaller market share of approximately 5%, they remain a vital component by providing significant funds and helping set professional management standards in the industry.
