Are Big Investors Really Buying Homes? Housing Market Data Explained

It’s hard to scroll online lately without seeing some version of this claim:

“Big investors are buying up all the homes.”

And honestly, if you’re a homebuyer who’s lost out on a few offers, that idea probably sounds believable. When homes are expensive and competition is tight, it’s easy to assume giant companies are scooping everything up behind the scenes.

But here’s the thing: what people assume is happening and what the data actually shows aren’t always the same.

Let’s look at what’s really happening with large institutional investors in today’s housing market because the numbers tell a very different story than the headlines.

The Number Most People Won’t See Online

Let’s start with the most important stat.

According to John Burns Research & Consulting (JBREC), large institutional investors, those that own 100 or more homes, made up just 1.2% of all home purchases in Q3 of 2025.

That’s it. Out of every 100 homes sold, only about 1 went to a large institutional investor.

And here’s an important point that often gets missed: that level of investor activity is very much in line with historical norms. It’s not unusually high, and it’s actually well below the recent peak of 3.1% in 2022, which itself was still a small share of the overall market.

So while it can feel like big investors are everywhere, nationally, they’re a very small part of overall home sales.

Why Investor Activity Gets So Much Attention

There are two main reasons this topic gets so much attention:

1. Investor activity isn’t spread evenly

Investors tend to concentrate in certain markets, which can make competition feel especially intense for homebuyers in those areas.

As Lance Lambert, Co-Founder of ResiClub, explains:

“On a national level, ‘large investors’, those owning at least 100 single-family homes, only own around 1% of total single-family housing stock. That said, in a handful of regional housing markets, institutional and large single-family landlords have a much larger presence.”

2. “Investor” is a very broad term

Part of what makes investor activity sound so overwhelming is how the term gets used in headlines.

Large Wall Street institutions often get lumped together with small, local investors, like a neighbor who owns one or two rental properties. But those are very different buyers.

In reality, most investors are small, local owners, not massive corporations. When all investors are grouped together as a single statistic, it inflates the perception and makes it seem like big institutions are dominating the market even though they’re not.

Yes, big investors exist. Yes, they buy homes. But nationally, they account for a very small share of total purchases, far smaller than most people assume.

The bigger affordability challenges have much more to do with supply constraints, demand, and years of underbuilding than with large institutions competing against everyday buyers.

Bottom Line

If you want to talk through what investor activity actually looks like in our local market and how it impacts your options (or doesn’t), let’s connect.

Sometimes a little context makes all the difference.