Home Purchases by Investors Fall to Lowest Point Since 2023

According to recent data from real estate marketing platform Redfin, purchases of homes by investors fell to 52,000 nationwide in Q-2 2025, the lowest springtime level since 2020 and the biggest drop in general since Q-4 2023. Compared with the same time last year, that figure marks a 6% decrease in investor home purchases.

With elevated housing costs, high mortgage rates, and ongoing uncertainty surrounding economic conditions, real estate investors are pulling back from the market for some of the same reasons as individual homebuyers. Even though many investors pay for homes in cash rather than through a mortgage, many still rely on loans to fund renovations. Additionally, home prices remain near record highs, and asking rents have declined in most parts of the U.S., making conditions equally as bad for investors as traditional homebuyers.

“For real estate investors, the numbers just don’t pencil out the way they did a few years ago, whether they’re looking to flip a home or rent it out,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “It costs a lot to buy a home, and potential returns are simultaneously softening. That doesn’t mean investors are disappearing–they’re still buying nearly one in five homes in the country–but they’re being choosier about their home purchases, just like individual homebuyers.”

Still, many investors are likely taking advantage of the buyer’s market, and getting homes for under their asking price and/or successfully getting concessions from sellers. In a market in which there are hundreds of thousands more home sellers than buyers, investors–just like regular buyers–have a chance to get a deal on certain homes.