Investors bought 32% of all houses sold in Q4 2025, a slight decrease from 34% in Q3 2025. This marks the third consecutive quarter in which investor purchases exceeded 30%, as reported by BatchData’s Q4 2025 Investor Pulse Report. For 2025 as a whole, investors acquired 1.32 million houses, down 4.5% from 1.39 million in 2024.
Investors owning 1,000 or more houses continued to reduce their holdings, BatchData found. They sold 5,970 properties in the fourth quarter while buying only 4,336. This was the eighth consecutive quarter in which large investors were net sellers. For the year, these large investors sold 20% more homes than they purchased. In total, investors own approximately 18% of the 86 million single-family residential homes in the country.
Investors owning 350 or more houses are a focus of the White House’s affordability initiatives. Under a current proposal on Capitol Hill, these investors would be required to sell a specified number of their holdings annually.
However, Ivo Draginov, president of BatchData, said that the high percentage of investor ownership is due more to fewer houses being sold than to overly aggressive investor activity. "While investors continue to represent a high percentage of home purchases, the number of properties they're buying has actually decreased significantly," Draginov said. "Investors bought about 292,000 homes in Q4 2025 — down 19% from Q3, and down 15% year-over-year."
Collectively, investors purchased about 1.32 million houses in 2025 while selling approximately 368,000. The largest investors, however, were net sellers, purchasing 20,856 homes and selling 25,861. Small investors, defined as those owning one to five properties, held 92% of investor-owned single-family homes, BatchData reported. Those owning six to 10 properties held just under 4%, while the largest investors accounted for only 2% of all investor-owned homes.
Tourism-dependent states lead in investor ownership, but metro areas in the Southeast show the highest concentration. Wyoming leads the nation with 30.66% investor-owned homes, followed by Maine at 29.88%, Montana at 26.63%, Alaska at 26.61%, and Hawaii at 25.84%. Five high-population states — Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia — account for roughly one-third of the nation's total investor-owned inventory.
Investors own at least 18% of all single-family homes in 44 of the 100 largest U.S. metros. Asheville, North Carolina, leads at almost 28%, followed by Lubbock, Texas, at 27.49%; Charleston, West Virginia, at 24.54%; Fayetteville, North Carolina, at almost 25%; Portland, Maine, at 23.69%; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, at 22.60%. Among investors with 100 or more properties, Atlanta tops the list at 3.77%, followed by Jacksonville at 3.50%, Charlotte at 2.79%, and Phoenix at 2.5%.
This trend of large investors being net sellers could influence housing supply and demand dynamics, affecting mortgage loan originators and brokers. A sustained increase in housing inventory from institutional sellers could potentially ease price appreciation, impacting loan amounts and borrower affordability. Mortgage professionals should monitor these shifts to anticipate changes in market conditions and borrower qualification criteria.
