The American housing market took off during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and home values have been climbing rapidly since. Home sale data compiled by real estate data company Zillow shows that the typical value of a mid-priced home soared by over 20% in the last year, from $284,000 in April 2021 to over $344,000 in April 2022.
Much of the surge in home sales, however, was not driven by families or first-time homebuyers, but rather by investors.
According to realty company Redfin, investors accounted for 18.4% of all U.S. home sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 – or more than one in every six home sales. Real estate investors can be large corporations, like Blackstone, or local companies and wealthy individuals. No matter who the investor is, their goal is the same – to profit from the real estate market, either through flipping homes or converting them into rentals.
Some major metropolitan areas are drawing even more investors than the national average – and Florida dominates the list, with five cities making the national Top 10 list. Jacksonville, Florida, ranked third in the nation for investment real estate, followed by Miami (6th), Orlando (7th), Tampa (8th) and Fort Lauderdale coming in at tenth place nationally.
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