Latest news with #BatchData
San Francisco Chronicle
6 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Letters: Lay no Prop 13 guilt trips on older homeowners
Regarding ' The Graying Bay Doom Loop ' (The Graying Bay, July 14), I'm tired of YIMBYs bashing old folks for having the temerity to age in place in their homes. They seem to think it was easy buying a home 40 or 50 years ago before the days of high-tech salaries, with interest rates at 10%. It wasn't. That old house has gained tremendous value, but what's an elderly person supposed to do if he sells it for $2 million? Some Bay Area retirement communities charge that as an entrance fee! The old house would probably be scraped to make room for a $5 million or even $10 million home, as I've seen happen multiple times on my street. How many young families can afford that? Instead of blaming the greying population, look to investors who, according to BatchData, now own roughly 20% of the nation's 86 million single-family homes. Grandma and Grandpa deserve to stay in the home they love — and can still afford, thanks to Prop 13. Don't lay a guilt trip on them in their golden years.
The Guardian
25-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
A fifth of California homes are investor-owned as state's affordability crisis deepens
One in five homes in California is owned by investors, new data reveals, in the latest sign of an affordability crisis that shows no end in sight. The figures, which come from the data tracker BatchData and were analyzed by the Orange County Register, show that California's overall percentage of investor home ownership sits at 19%. The rate is higher in the state's mountain regions such as Sierra county, which has an 83% share of its homes owned by investors, compared with coastal Ventura county, at just 14%. In seven California counties – Sierra, Trinity, Mono, Alpine, Plumas, Modoc and Calaveras – investors owned more than 50% of homes. California's most urban counties, featuring some of its most prized and expensive real estate, had lower shares of investor-owned homes, with Los Angeles county at 15% and San Francisco, San Diego and Orange counties at 16%. While the trend is not unique to California – the state ranks 36th in the country, and just a shade under the 20% national average – it comes as the state is experiencing an acute housing shortage. Home prices in the Golden state are among the most expensive in the nation, and have jumped 50% in the past six years. The US Chamber of Commerce estimates that the US is short roughly 4.5m homes. The share of investor-owned homes is rising as well, accounting for 26.8% of all national residential property sales in the first quarter of 2025. While this indicated the highest percentage in five years, BatchData attributed the number less to increasing investor activity, and more to rising costs of home ownership serving as a barrier for homebuyers. The doubling of mortgage rates in 2022 significantly cut homebuyer purchases, thus increasing investors' share. The report, which did not define what qualifies as an 'investor', saw the sector filling a crucial role in tight markets. 'With traditional buyers sidelined by affordability constraints, investors are providing essential marked liquidity while targeting distinct property segments and geographic markets,' the report said. Omar Ocampo, a researcher at the Institute for Policy Studies and co-author of Billionaire Blowback on Housing, says the 'mega investors and small investors' want to 'make as much money as possible'. Ocampo is not sold that this helps make housing affordable. 'They bring liquidity into the market because they're pouring billions of dollars of cash into real estate, but that is not putting downward pressure on prices,' he said. 'We would argue that's putting upward pressure on prices.' Ocampo acknowledged a shortage of housing, but said that, given investment patterns, an affordability solution would take more than just building new units. 'What happens if you build more housing, and institutional investors are buying up 20% of the new stock?' Ocampo said. 'It's like a never-ending cycle.' Tourist-heavy states Hawaii and Alaska clocked in with the highest share of investor-owned homes with 40% and 35%, respectively. Affordable states such as Arkansas (30%) and West Virginia (30%) also ranked highly. By quantity, California had the second highest number of investor-owned homes in the country (1.45m) after Texas (1.66m), with Florida clinching the bronze medal at 1.21m. Investors owing between one and five properties account for 85% of investor-owned homes, and those owning between six and 10 properties account for another 5%, bringing the total share of small investor-owned homes to about 90%.
The Guardian
24-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
A fifth of California homes are investor-owned as state's affordability crisis deepens
One in five homes in California is owned by investors, new data reveals, in the latest sign of an affordability crisis that shows no end in sight. The figures, which come from the data tracker BatchData and were analyzed by the Orange County Register, show that California's overall percentage of investor home ownership sits at 19%. The rate is higher in the state's mountain regions such as Sierra county, which has an 83% share of its homes owned by investors, compared with coastal Ventura county, at just 14%. In seven California counties – Sierra, Trinity, Mono, Alpine, Plumas, Modoc and Calaveras – investors owned more than 50% of homes. California's most urban counties, featuring some of its most prized and expensive real estate, had lower shares of investor-owned homes, with Los Angeles county at 15% and San Francisco, San Diego and Orange counties at 16%. While the trend is not unique to California – the state ranks 36th in the country, and just a shade under the 20% national average – it comes as the state is experiencing an acute housing shortage. Home prices in the Golden state are among the most expensive in the nation, and have jumped 50% in the past six years. The US Chamber of Commerce estimates that the US is short roughly 4.5m homes. The share of investor-owned homes is rising as well, accounting for 26.8% of all national residential property sales in the first quarter of 2025. While this indicated the highest percentage in five years, BatchData attributed the number less to increasing investor activity, and more to rising costs of home ownership serving as a barrier for homebuyers. The doubling of mortgage rates in 2022 significantly cut homebuyer purchases, thus increasing investors' share. The report, which did not define what qualifies as an 'investor', saw the sector filling a crucial role in tight markets. 'With traditional buyers sidelined by affordability constraints, investors are providing essential marked liquidity while targeting distinct property segments and geographic markets,' the report said. Omar Ocampo, a researcher at the Institute for Policy Studies and co-author of Billionaire Blowback on Housing, says the 'mega investors and small investors' want to 'make as much money as possible'. Ocampo is not sold that this helps make housing affordable. 'They bring liquidity into the market because they're pouring billions of dollars of cash into real estate, but that is not putting downward pressure on prices,' he said. 'We would argue that's putting upward pressure on prices.' Ocampo acknowledged a shortage of housing, but said that, given investment patterns, an affordability solution would take more than just building new units. 'What happens if you build more housing, and institutional investors are buying up 20% of the new stock?' Ocampo said. 'It's like a never-ending cycle.' Tourist-heavy states Hawaii and Alaska clocked in with the highest share of investor-owned homes with 40% and 35%, respectively. Affordable states such as Arkansas (30%) and West Virginia (30%) also ranked highly. By quantity, California had the second highest number of investor-owned homes in the country (1.45m) after Texas (1.66m), with Florida clinching the bronze medal at 1.21m. Investors owing between one and five properties account for 85% of investor-owned homes, and those owning between six and 10 properties account for another 5%, bringing the total share of small investor-owned homes to about 90%.
Global News
08-07-2025
- Business
- Global News
U.S. investors scooping up homes faster than would-be buyers, data shows
Real estate investors are snapping up a bigger share of U.S. homes on the market as rising prices and stubbornly high borrowing costs freeze out many other would-be homebuyers. Nearly 27 per cent of all homes sold in the first three months of the year were bought by investors — the highest share in at least five years, according to a report by real estate data provider BatchData. Between 2020 and 2023, the share of homes bought by investors averaged 18.5 per cent. All told, investors bought 265,000 homes in the January-March quarter, an increase of 1.2 per cent from the same period a year earlier, the firm said. Despite the modest annual increase, the rise in the share of investor home purchases is more a reflection of how much the housing market has slowed as traditional buyers face growing affordability constraints, according to BatchData. Story continues below advertisement 3:25 Years-long real estate fraud scandal unravels in Calgary The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump since early 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Home sales fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. Get weekly money news Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday. Sign up for weekly money newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy They've remained sluggish so far this year, as many prospective homebuyers have been discouraged by elevated mortgage rates and home prices that have kept climbing, though more slowly. As home sales have slowed, properties are taking longer to sell. That's led to a sharply higher inventory of homes on the market, benefitting investors and other home shoppers who can afford to bypass current mortgage rates by paying in cash or tapping home equity gains. 'As traditional buyers struggle with affordability, investors with cash and financing advantages are stepping in to maintain transaction volume,' according to the report. Story continues below advertisement BatchData analyzes U.S. home sales records to determine which properties were purchased by investors. These could include vacation homes or rentals, but not a homebuyer's primary residence. Investors bought 1.2 million homes in 2024, up from an average of 1.1 million homes a year going back to 2020, according to BatchData. Even so, investor-owned homes account for roughly 20 per cent of the nation's 86 million single-family homes, the firm said. Of those, mom-and-pop investors, or those who own between one and five homes, account for 85 per cent of all investor-owned residential properties, while those with between six and 10 properties account for another five per cent. 2:03 Interest grows from Americans in moving to Maritimes Institutional investors that own 1,000 or more homes account for only about 2.2 per cent of all investor-owned homes, the firm said. Story continues below advertisement And that number could get smaller, amid signs that large institutional investors are scaling back home purchases. Out of a group of eight of the biggest companies that own and lease single-family houses, including Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent, six sold more homes in the second quarter than they bought, according to data from Parci Labs.
Fast Company
08-07-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
With prices skyrocketing, investors are snapping up U.S. homes. That's bad news for the average buyer.
Real estate investors are snapping up a bigger share of U.S. homes on the market as rising prices and stubbornly high borrowing costs freeze out many other would-be homebuyers. Nearly 27% of all homes sold in the first three months of the year were bought by investors—the highest share in at least five years, according to a report by real estate data provider BatchData. Between 2020 and 2023, the share of homes bought by investors averaged 18.5%. All told, investors bought 265,000 homes in the January-March quarter, an increase of 1.2% from the same period a year earlier, the firm said. Despite the modest annual increase, the rise in the share of investor home purchases is more a reflection of how much the housing market has slowed as traditional buyers face growing affordability constraints, according to BatchData. The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump since early 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Home sales fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. They've remained sluggish so far this year, as many prospective homebuyers have been discouraged by elevated mortgage rates and home prices that have kept climbing, though more slowly. As home sales have slowed, properties are taking longer to sell. That's led to a sharply higher inventory of homes on the market, benefitting investors and other home shoppers who can afford to bypass current mortgage rates by paying in cash or tapping home equity gains. 'As traditional buyers struggle with affordability, investors with cash and financing advantages are stepping in to maintain transaction volume,' according to the report. BatchData analyzes U.S. home sales records to determine which properties were purchased by investors. These could include vacation homes or rentals, but not a homebuyer's primary residence. Investors bought 1.2 million homes in 2024, up from an average of 1.1 million homes a year going back to 2020, according to BatchData. Even so, investor-owned homes account for roughly 20% of the nation's 86 million single-family homes, the firm said. Of those, mom-and-pop investors, or those who own between 1 and 5 homes, account for 85% of all investor-owned residential properties, while those with between 6 and 10 properties account for another 5%. Institutional investors that own 1,000 or more homes account for only about 2.2% of all investor-owned homes, the firm said. And that number could get smaller, amid signs that large institutional investors are scaling back home purchases. Out of a group of eight of the biggest companies that own and lease single-family houses, including Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent, six sold more homes in the second quarter than they bought, according to data from Parci Labs.
