Press Release
Investors maintain 30% market share entering 2026
IRVINE, Calif., February 12, 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.”
Share of investor purchases by investor size, January 2018 – December 2025
Data source: Cotality Public Records Data
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.
Monthly home purchases made by investors and non-investors, January 2018 – December 2025
Data source: Cotality Public Records Data
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.
Share of investor purchases by investor size, January 2018 – December 2025
Data source: Cotality Public Records Data
Geographic trends
Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, and New York are the top five cities for investors.
Population growth is driving domestic investor activity in the U.S., with Dallas and Houston leading in acquisitions due to strong rental demand. While Atlanta and Phoenix align with typical high-growth investor markets, the prominence of New York and Chicago shows that strong appreciation also continues to attract investors.
Top 20 MSAs by total investor purchases, January– December 2025
Data source: Cotality Public Records Data
A critical distinction remains: volume does not equate to share. While Dallas and Houston saw significant activity, they rank 14th and 16th in market shares, respectively. Conversely, California metros like San Jose and Los Angeles command the highest shares, suggesting that in high-cost markets, investor dominance is driven less by an influx of new capital and more by the inactivity of traditional buyers.
This shift highlights a national trend: extreme unaffordability disproportionately sidelines owner-occupiers. This is not to discount a myriad of other factors. One such example is the rise of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in California, which creates a unique revenue source for continued investor interest.
Investor share in the top 20 MSAs by investor purchases, January – December 2025
Data source: Cotality Public Records Data
Outlook
Investor market share is expected to remain steady through early 2026, with a projected seasonal dip toward 25% as owner-occupied activity typically ramps up for the summer. The long-term outlook remains tied to interest rates. If rates remain elevated, owner-occupied demand is unlikely to rebound significantly. If rates decline, investor share may decrease as traditional buyers regain their footing.
Given the current gap between buyer purchasing power and seller price expectations, a rate decline would likely bridge the valuation gap rather than ignite a new price surge, reducing the likelihood of investors from further crowding the market.
Methodology
The Cotality Investor Purchase Indicator defines an investor as a buyer that owns three or more properties. Small investors are defined as those with fewer than 10 properties, medium investors fewer than 100, large fewer than 1000, and mega as greater than 1,000.
It is an investor purchase indicator, rather than an investment purchase indicator, meaning that it identifies purchases made by investors, but makes no judgement about what the property will be used for.
For this analysis, only arms-length purchases for single-family homes (detached and townhomes) are considered.
About Cotality
Cotality accelerates data, insights, and workflows across the property ecosystem to enable industry professionals to surpass their ambitions and impact society. With billions of real-time data signals across the life cycle of a property, we unearth hidden risks and transformative opportunities for agents, lenders, carriers, and innovators. Get to know us at www.cotality.com.
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