Investors Back In the Game? - They Never Really Left It

Many housing experts have predicted a slowdown in investor activity this year, but investors don’t appear to be fading away from the market. They might just be shifting their focus to different types of properties, as distressed inventories dry up in many markets.

“There has been a clear rebound in investor participation in the housing market,” says Thomas Popik, research director for the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey, which showed strong activity among investors in December 2013. “The statistics for the housing market, particularly the non-distressed segment, remain generally strong, but investors still are increasing their activity.”

Investors are increasingly targeting non-distressed properties.

In November, investors accounted for 13.2 percent of purchases of non-distressed properties based on a three-month moving average. That's up from 10.5 percent in August, marking a seven-month market share high for investors, according to the HousingPulse survey.

Investors had started pulling away from the market in March 2013 as home prices soared, with their overall market share dropping to 16 percent, according to a survey by the National Association of REALTORS®. But by December, they bounced back, ending the year strong with a 21 percent market share — about the same level at which investors’ presence peaked during the foreclosure crisis.

Source: “Investors Ended 2013 on a Roll,” RISMedia (Feb. 17, 2014)