Is Wall Street Really Buying All the Homes?

<article class="post-1274138 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry" id="post-1274138"><span class="entry-date">November 19, 2024</span><div class="entry-header center-block text-center"><h1 class="entry-title">Is Wall Street Really Buying All the Homes?</h1><div class="shareBlock"><div class="shareTitle">Share</div><div class="shareIcons"><a aria-label="Twitter Share Link" class="twitter solid display-inline-block" data-tracking="Post,Social Post Link Clicked,Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/share?text=Is+Wall+Street+Really+Buying+All+the+Homes%3F&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fgilliggroup.com%2Fblog%2Fis-wall-street-really-buying-all-the-homes%2F" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Twitter</span></a>
<div class="fb-share-button display-inline-block" data-href="https://gilliggroup.com/blog/is-wall-street-really-buying-all-the-homes/" data-layout="" data-size=""><a class="facebook solid fb-xfbml-parse-ignore" data-tracking="Post,Social Post Link Clicked,Twitter" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgilliggroup.com%2Fblog%2Fis-wall-street-really-buying-all-the-homes%2F&amp;src=sdkpreparse" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Facebook</span></a></div>
<a class="pinterest solid display-inline-block" count-layout="horizontal" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgilliggroup.com%2Fblog%2Fis-wall-street-really-buying-all-the-homes%2F&amp;description=Is+Wall+Street+Really+Buying+All+the+Homes%3F" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Pinterest</span></a>
<a class="linkedin solid display-inline-block" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https://gilliggroup.com/blog/is-wall-street-really-buying-all-the-homes/?shareSlug%3Dis-wall-street-really-buying-all-the-homes" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">LinkedIn</span></a>
<a class="email dashicons dashicons-email solid display-inline-block" href="mailto:?subject=From gilliggroup.com: Is Wall Street Really Buying All the Homes?&amp;body=Is Wall Street Really Buying All the Homes?%0D%0Dhttps://gilliggroup.com/blog/is-wall-street-really-buying-all-the-homes/" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Email</span></a>
</div></div><div class="post-tax post-category"><span></span><a href="../category/realtor-blog/index.html" rel="tag">Realtor Blog</a></div><div class="post-tax post-post_tag"></div></div><div class="entry-content"><div><img alt="Is Wall Street Really Buying All the Homes? Simplifying The Market" decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://files.keepingcurrentmatters.com/KeepingCurrentMatters/content/images/20241114/20241119-Is-Wall-Street-Really-Buying-All-the-Homes-original.png" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; clear: both; max-width: 100%;" width=""/>
<p>Let’s be real – <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/10/18/why-buying-now-is-worth-it-infographic/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">buying</a> a home <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/11/05/expect-the-unexpected-anticipating-volatility-in-todays-housing-market/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">right now</a> is tough. You’re scrolling through listings, rushing to open houses, and maybe even losing out to more competitive offers. Somewhere along the way, you might’ve heard the reason it’s so hard to find a home is because big Wall Street investors are swooping in and snatching up everything in sight.</p>
<p>But here’s the thing: that’s mostly a myth. While investors are part of the market, according to <em>Redfin</em>, they’re a relatively small part:</p>
<p><strong><img decoding="async" src="https://files.keepingcurrentmatters.com/KeepingCurrentMatters/content/images/20241114/20241119-Investors-Only-Bought-1-in-6-Homes-Sold-in-Q2-original.png"/>Here’s what that means. Five out of every six homes are being purchased by everyday homebuyers like you – not big investors.</strong></p>
<p>So, before you get discouraged, let’s take a look at what’s <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/10/11/buying-beats-renting-in-these-top-cities/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">really going on</a>. You might be surprised to learn that Wall Street isn’t the competition you may think it is.</p>
<h4><strong>Most Investors Are Small Mom-and-Pops</strong></h4>
<p>Most investors aren’t the mega corporations you’ve probably heard about. In fact, many are your neighbors. A recent <a href="https://www.corelogic.com/intelligence/us-home-investors-decline-summer-2024/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a> from <em>CoreLogic</em> shows most investors are small, mom-and-pop types who own fewer than 10 properties. They aren’t massive companies with endless resources. Picture your neighbor who has another home they’re renting out or a vacation getaway.</p>
<p><strong>Only about 1% of the market is owned by large, mega investors with thousands of properties.</strong> The majority are still owned by individuals and smaller investors – not the Wall Street giants.</p>
<h4><strong>Investor Purchases Are Declining</strong></h4>
<p>Not only are most investors small, but overall investor purchases have been on the decline. As the same report from <em>CoreLogic</em> <a href="https://www.corelogic.com/intelligence/us-home-investors-decline-summer-2024/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">says</a>: </p>
<blockquote><p><em>“Investors made 80,000 purchases in June 2024, compared with 112,000 in June 2023, and a nearly 50% percent drop from the high of 149,000 purchases in June 2021 . . .”</em></p></blockquote>
<p>And what does this mean going forward?<em> CoreLogic </em>goes on to point out this downward trend is expected to continue into 2025.</p>
<p>So, if it seems like competition with investors is pushing you out of the market, it might help to know that investor activity is actually slowing down.</p>
<h3>Bottom Line</h3>
<p>The idea that Wall Street is buying up all the homes is largely a myth. Most investors are small ones, and the share of homes purchased by investors is declining – so you can take this one off your worry list.</p>
<p>If you have <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/11/01/qa-how-do-presidential-elections-impact-the-housing-market/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">questions</a> about the housing market, talk to a local <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/10/31/how-real-estate-agents-take-the-fear-out-of-moving/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">real estate agent</a>. They can explain what’s really happening.</p>
</div>
</div></article>