U.S. investor home purchases fell 6% year over year in the first quarter of 2026 to their lowest level since 2020. Investors accounted for 19% of all home purchases during the period, a share largely unchanged from a year earlier, while holding 7.8% of all U.S. home listings—the smallest share in five years.
The decline was broad-based across property types. Investor purchases of single-family homes dropped 6%, townhouses fell 13%, and condos declined 8% year over year, reaching their lowest first-quarter level since 2015. Single-family homes made up 70% of investor purchases, followed by condos at 18% and townhouses at 7%.
Investor activity also declined across price tiers. Purchases of low-priced homes fell 10%—the lowest first-quarter level in a decade—while mid-priced home purchases declined 6%. High-priced home purchases saw a 1% decrease year over year.
Regional trends varied. Investor purchases fell 35% in Detroit, the steepest drop among major metros analyzed, followed by 25% declines in Orlando and 21% in Cleveland. In contrast, investor buying rose in several West Coast markets: up 19% in San Francisco, 15% in Virginia Beach, and 12% in San Jose.
“Higher mortgage rates, slowing price growth and rising construction costs are giving both investors and individual homebuyers pause,” said Tamara Mattox-Kabat, a Redfin Premier agent in Denver. She added, “Flippers and investors are scaling back, and being much more strategic when they do buy homes. They’re buying less expensive materials, and being more careful about timing their projects to list during the stronger spring and summer seasons. It’s also the case that large institutional investors are focusing more on building new homes than buying existing ones.”
Prior to 2020, the last time investors bought so few homes was in 2016. Mortgage rates in the first quarter of 2026 dipped into the low-6% range, down from near 7% throughout 2025. Overall pending home sales fell roughly 3% year over year in March 2026. The House recently passed a housing affordability bill that restricts institutional investors from buying single-family homes but permits them to build more.