California tops U.S. in home investor share
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Investors own a larger share of single-family homes in California — 35.2% —than any other state in the country, per a new CoreLogic report.
The big picture: Nationwide, the investor-owned home share hit an all-time high of 27.2% during 2023's 4th quarter.
- San Diego's share had the second largest increase — 4.6 percentage points to 25.1% — out of the 40 largest metros.
State of play: Investor hot spots remained primarily in the Sunbelt, even as home price growth favored other areas in 2023, such as the upper Midwest and the Northeast, CoreLogic economist Thomas Malone says.
- "Investors have their preferred locations, and don't seem to chase short-term price trends," Malone tells Axios.
Driving the news: Higher interest rates haven't fazed home investors nationally.
- Nothing suggests their share of U.S. home purchases will retreat to the pre-pandemic level, which was less than 20%, Malone wrote in the report.
What's next: The national investor share could join California in exceeding 30% this year, Malone writes, but it's unclear what would happen if mortgage rates decline in the second half of the year as expected.
- "This may well bring buyers back off the sidelines, leading to a drop in the home investor share," he wrote.