Investor homebuying slows in Seattle area and across Washington
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Fewer houses in the Seattle area are getting snatched up by institutional investors compared with a year ago, according to real estate data firm ATTOM.
Why it matters: Investors' pulling back could mean less competition for first-time homebuyers as they try to enter the pricey local real estate market.
By the numbers: In the Seattle metropolitan area, the share of homes sold to institutional investors dropped from 6.4% in the first quarter of 2024 to 4.9% in the same period this year, per ATTOM data shared with Axios.
- Washington state as a whole saw as similar decline: from 5.9% of homes sold to investors last year to 4.8% this year.
The fine print: ATTOM defined an institutional investor as a non-lending entity that bought at least 10 properties in a calendar year.
Zoom out: Nationwide, the total number of homes sold to institutional investors in the first quarter of 2025 was the lowest since 2020.
What we're watching: Whether slowing investor purchases in Seattle and Washington will translate into a break for local homebuyers.