Curious what real estate investors across the US have been up to lately? A new report offers some eye-opening answers.

The Realtor.com Real Estate Investor Report found that investors represented 13% of buyers and 10.8% of sellers last year. All told, they purchased 610,000 homes in 2024 (up slightly from 608,000 in 2023) and sold 509,000.

Do the math, and you’ll see that investors acquired about 101,000 more homes than they put on the market. That’s the slimmest spread seen since 2020, and less than half the net gains made during their pandemic-fueled homebuying peak of 2022, when investors snapped up 260,000 more homes than they decided to dump.

“The market saw the smallest net investor buying activity in five years,” explains Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale.

In other words: Even though everyone knows that hordes of homebuyers have been struggling with high mortgage rates, steep home prices, and other challenges, investors are also slowing down to take a breath and assess whether expanding their portfolio is a good idea.

Top markets for investors

To offset higher housing costs, investors are heading where the bargains are: Nine of the top 10 markets for investor buyers boasted median purchase prices below $300,000; five were even under $200,000. That sounds downright heavenly compared to the nationwide median of $440,000.

“These price trends underscore the trend of stronger investor activity in more affordable markets,” explains Realtor.com economist Hannah Jones.

So, where are these deals? Investors represented the highest share of 2024 buyers in the following states:

• Missouri: 21.2%
• Oklahoma: 18.7%
• Kansas: 18.4%
• Utah: 18.0%
• Georgia: 17.3%
• Montana: 17.2%
• Mississippi: 16.7%
• Wyoming: 16.3%
• Indiana: 16.1%
• Alabama: 15.9%

“These states are generally affordable but have seen rental prices hold up better than national rents, creating an opportunity for investors,” Jones said. “In fact, Kansas City, which straddles the Kansas–Missouri border, saw the highest rental price growth in the country in April 2025, but it remains affordable relative to local incomes.”

Where are investors selling the most homes?

Although investors picked up a few more homes last year, they were far more eager to pawn them off: Investor sales hit a record high, representing 10.8% of all sales, up from 10.1% in 2023.

Investor sales were most prevalent in Oklahoma (16.7%), Missouri (16.7%), Georgia (15.9%), Nevada (14.3%), and Utah (14.3%). Interestingly, “The list of top states for investor sellers looks similar to the top locations for investor purchases, indicating that investor activity is heavily concentrated in certain markets,” observes Jones.

Last but not least, the report contained one more record-high worth celebrating: Smaller investors who own fewer than 10 properties made up 59.2% of purchases in 2024, while large investors fell to just 21.7% of purchases, the lowest share since 2007. Props to all the little guys for gaining ground against big players!

What’s the most annoying part of home shopping? According to the Stessa-ResiClub Real Estate Investor Survey, 64.7% of respondents said the most frustrating part of homebuying is finding deals with ample cash flow. That’s followed by competing with other buyers (12.5%) and getting financing approval (9.8%). Speaking of financing, half of the survey respondents said they’d take a mortgage rate up to 7% for their next purchase. Meanwhile, 48.4% of survey respondents plan to maintain their portfolios, 45.1% plan to grow, and 6.5% plan to bail.

Broker fees on NYC rentals are over. Starting June 11, the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act prohibits brokers from charging a “broker fee” to tenants. This fee, which typically tacks on a hefty 12–15% to the yearly rent, will now be the landlord’s responsibility. New York (where 70% of residents rent) is actually one of the last cities in the US where such fees were allowed, although the Real Estate Board of New York warns that this may simply cause landlords to raise rents.

Home Depot stays open. The home improvement chain, known as a gathering place for undocumented workers, remained open for business even after some of its stores were raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, sparking riots in Los Angeles and other cities across the country. However, the usual crowds of day laborers there have waned. Overall, Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants has forced a wide range of industries to brace for a loss in headcount; Goldman Sachs estimates that 13% of US construction workers may be undocumented.

Home insurance rates are through the roof. Homeowner’s insurance has gotten 38% more expensive since 2019 nationwide, per Zillow, but certain areas at high risk for climate disasters pay much more. Places with the biggest hikes include hurricane-prone Miami with a 57% growth in insurance rates, followed by Sacramento (54%), which faces significant wildfire risks.

No one’s getting home loans. According to property data firm ATTOM, 1.4 million mortgages were secured by US residential properties in the first quarter of this year, down 14% from the previous quarter. That’s a far cry from the recent peak of 4.2 million loans per quarter in early 2021. Home purchase loans, which typically comprise half of all mortgages, have fallen to 41.4%, while refis and home equity line of credit deals have grown to 40.5% and 18.2% of the market, respectively. ATTOM CEO Rob Barber even said, “If the current trend continues, mortgage refinancing deals will soon make up the biggest share of the home loan market.”

How much do you need to pay to live in the lap of luxury? That depends on where you shop for a house. Zillow found that luxury homes (defined as the 5% priciest in an area) are now worth about $1.8 million nationwide, but the local price will range from just over $835,000 in Buffalo, NY, to nearly $6 million in San Jose, CA. Although luxury sales are down with 12% fewer homes under contract in April compared to the previous month, prices are still up from a year ago by 2.7%.

When Bailey Hall bought a house near Seattle, sight unseen, the product manager was surprised upon visiting the property to find a small barn on its five acres. A huge fan of HGTV, she’d always dreamed of tackling her own home makeover, so despite having no background in renovation, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work. In April, about a year later, Hall of Moss made its debut on Airbnb as a rental alongside the primary house, doubling Bailey’s income streams from one property. Here’s how she pulled it off and her advice for others who dare to dabble in DIY.

How did you end up turning a tiny barn into an Airbnb? “In 2021, I purchased a property for $410K that was converted and ready to go as an Airbnb rental. This was during the height of Covid, so housing demand was sky-high, and the market was very competitive. I took a huge leap of faith and put an offer on the property before seeing it. When I closed on the property and visited it, I was pleasantly surprised, especially when I found that there was also a small, dilapidated barn on the grounds. It was falling apart, but I instantly saw an opportunity to transform it into a second Airbnb rental. I grew up watching HGTV and had always wanted to do a home renovation project on my own. This was an opportunity to pursue my passion, while also generating additional income and expanding my Airbnb portfolio.”

What challenges did you face? “My first challenge was figuring out how I would fund the renovation project. I had my own savings to help, but I still needed some additional funding to cover professional help and materials. I decided to take out a home equity line of credit (HELOC) on the property through Figure.

What did you do to turn this little barn into a livable house? “Pulling off the renovation itself was quite the undertaking. The foundation was crumbling, and the deck started to fall off as well, so I used a large chunk of the funds to hire professional contractors. They handled a lot of the structural rebuilding, including the roof, foundation, electrical, and plumbing work. While contractors handled the structural rebuilding, I wanted to do a lot of the renovations on my own. I invested a lot of my time—lots of weekends and late nights and elbow grease to complete this dream project.”

How has it done as a short-term rental? “The cabin went live on Airbnb in April. We haven’t even hit our busy season yet, but we’re getting more bookings than expected during Seattle’s slower/wetter months, and it’s been profitable at about $2,000 a month, a 3x margin over my HELOC payments.”

What advice do you have for others who might like to try renovating or owning a short-term rental? “Pull more from your HELOC than you think you’ll need. My budget was $60K, and I ended up going slightly over, but that wasn’t an issue because I was totally covered with the funds from my HELOC. It was a lot of hard work, and it took me about a year, but I’m very proud of what I accomplished. It has also inspired me to take on more home renovation projects.”

Hankering for more? Click here to learn more about Bailey’s renovation and see more pics.

A rentvestor is someone who rents the home where they live but owns an investment property elsewhere. The term “rentvesting” was coined by Mynd, a proptech firm that found that 43% of millennials and Gen Z hoped to buy an investment property, 72% in a different state from where they rented their primary digs.

Why? Many rentvestors reside in pricey metros where buying the roof over their heads isn’t feasible (think New York City or Los Angeles, where typical home prices start at $1 million). So in order to get their foot on the real estate investment ladder, they purchase a property in a more far-flung, affordable locale, which they then rent out to cover their mortgage and other expenses, with the goal of breaking even and hopefully coming out ahead.

Rentvesting is often billed as a way to enjoy the excitement and convenience of big city living without missing out on the financial benefits of owning real estate. The main downsides are that overseeing a rental property in a distant location can be a pain in the butt, and you’ll want to make sure your finances aren’t spread too thin between two properties. Here’s where you can learn more about the pros and cons of rentvesting.