L
ast year saw a record-high share of investor home sales, with smaller investors making significant gains. The Midwest emerged as a focal point for buyers, driven by strong demand and relatively affordable prices.

    Key points:

    * Investor home purchases accounted for 13% of all home sales in 2024, according to Realtor.com.

    * Despite an overall decline in national home sales, investor market share increased due to fewer buyers overall.

    * Small investors represented 59.2% of all investor purchases, while large investors scaled back sharply, buying just 132,500 homes in 2024.

    Investors are playing a larger role in the cooling housing market as small-scale operators rise in influence. Nationwide, investors picked up more homes on net in 2024, with smaller investors being a growing majority of buyer activity.

    The Midwest has emerged as a focal point for investor interest, driven by affordability and stable rental demand. Missouri led the nation with investors accounting for 21.2% of all home purchases, followed by Oklahoma (18.7%) and Kansas (18.4%).

    Investor presence ticks up despite constrained market conditions. While the number of homes bought by investors only grew modestly, investor market share increased due to fewer buyers overall. The increased share of purchases was largely driven by small investors.

    Smaller investors are now dominating the investor landscape, with a growing influence on the housing market. These buyers are less likely to purchase with cash than in previous years, driving a significant change in how investor activity is financed.