In the real-estate investment market, business operators are more frequently buying and selling among themselves, according to new Batchdata research.
While
The share pulled back from 55% over the prior two quarters but still represents an uptick from 52% reported for full-year 2024.
The largest investors appeared more likely than smaller companies to rely on each other for transactions. Approximately 47% of homes purchased by larger companies in the second quarter came from similar businesses while over 66% of volume they sold went back to the same community.
"Small investors often acquire properties from institutions seeking to reduce operational complexity, while institutional buyers target portfolios from smaller investors seeking liquidity," the report said.
The majority of units bought, though, ultimately go to families, with 60% of the purchases eventually resulting in either new listings targeted to homeowners or rentals, Batchdata concluded.
Market dominated by mom-and-pop businesses
While housing industry watchers and consumer advocates have sometimes faulted the role of large institutional investors for elevated prices and inventory challenges,
Owners of between one and five units possess a vast majority of 87% of all single-family homes in the segment. Businesses with six to 10 properties owned another 4%, Batchdata said.
The largest companies with 1,000 or more properties accounted for just 2% of all investor-owned properties.
Investor purchases slow but also surge
The findings come after a three-month period when the purchases made by real estate investors also grew to their largest share relative to all transactions in five years, the report said. The 33% share represented 345,752 homes and increased from close to 27% during the first quarter and 25.7% for all of 2024.
Compared on a unit volume basis, the number of purchases in the first quarter this year finished at 301,126 and one year ago, came in at 389,926.
"While the percentage of single-family homes purchased by investors rose to a five-year high, the actual number of homes purchased during the second quarter of 2025 was 16,000 fewer than a year ago," Batchdata co-founder and chief innovation officer Ivo Draginov pointed out in a press release.
"So the relatively high percentage of home purchases by investors is at least partly due to overall home sales being weaker in Q2 2025 than they were in Q2 2024," he continued.
Meanwhile, sales of investor-owned properties clocked in at 92,957 in the most recent quarter, compared to 82,481 in the first and 99,615 a year ago.
Draginov's remarks correspond to several releases over the summer that showed a slowing housing market,
Currently, 20% of the 86 million single-family residential homes in the U.S are investor held, Batchdata said.
Where investor units proliferate
Texas, California and Florida — the country's largest states by population, likewise, had the greatest number of such properties located within their borders, but the biggest shares relative to local housing markets were found in popular tourist areas.
Maine and Montana topped the list, both with 31% of single-family units owned by investors. They were followed by Alaska and Hawaii at 27% and 26%, respectively.
In the second quarter, investors also paid on average $455,481 for each home purchased. Batchdata found. Purchase price was below the $512,800 market average but above the median level.
