Real Estate Investors Are Retreating — Here's Where the Typical Person Has a Better Chance to Buy Now

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Real estate has long been a popular investment for DIY'ers and private-equity firms alike — and over the last couple of years, competition has been fierce.

Investors bought nearly a quarter of all U.S. homes that sold in 2021, including a third of single-family homes in Georgia (33%). Other highly sought-after states were Arizona (31%), Nevada (30%), and California and Texas (both 29%), according to a Stateline analysis of data provided by financial-services company CoreLogic.

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But it looks like the buying spree might be coming to an end in some once-popular areas.

According to a February analysis from Redfin reported by Insider, home purchases by investors in the final quarter of 2022 dropped a staggering 21% from the same quarter in 2021, the most significant year-over-year decrease since tracking began in 2002.

The report found that Las Vegas, Phoenix, the New York suburb of Nassau County, Atlanta, and Charlotte all saw investor buyouts sink 60% year over year. Higher interest rates and the prospect of substantial home-price decreases are spooking investors, the report said — so the average homebuyer has a better shot at landing the sale.

According to the report, investors purchased $31 billion worth of homes in the fourth quarter, down 42.7% from $54.1 billion year over year and down 27.5% from $42.8 billion one quarter earlier.

"It's possible that investors will start to wade back into the market this year given that mortgage rates have ticked down from their 2022 high—especially if home prices show signs of bottoming," said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. "But it's unlikely that investors will return with the same vigor they had in 2021. That's good news for individual buyers, who are still grappling with high housing costs but no longer losing bidding war after bidding war to investors."

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