Small investors are strengthening their presence in the U.S. housing market as large institutional buyers continue to scale back, according to the H1 2026 Investor Report.
Investors purchased approximately 224,000 homes during the first half of 2026, down 7% year over year and marking the lowest first-half total since 2020. Investor purchases accounted for 10.7% of all home sales, slightly below the 11% share recorded during the same period last year.
Smaller investors, defined as those purchasing fewer than 10 properties, represented 66.2% of investor purchases—their largest share in at least 15 years. Meanwhile, purchases by mega investors have fallen nearly 70% compared with the first half of 2021, reflecting a broader pullback among large institutional buyers.
The shift is creating a more fragmented investment landscape for the single-family rental (SFR) market. Smaller investors continue to buy while large and mega investors have become net sellers. Investor activity remains concentrated in more affordable Midwest and Sun Belt markets, including Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Investors also continued to favor lower-priced properties and cash purchases. The median investor purchase price was $295,000, compared with $380,000 for non-investor buyers, while 55.5% of investor purchases were made in cash.
For the SFR and build-to-rent (BTR) sectors, the changing buyer mix highlights how investment activity is evolving as institutional participation slows and smaller operators maintain their presence in the housing market.
Source: Realtor.com Research
