Statistics · 2026 · Real Estate
Real Estate Investor Statistics (2026)
Real-estate investors bought 19% of U.S. homes sold in the first quarter of 2026, down slightly from 20% a year earlier, while their purchase volume fell 6% year-over-year to just 45,397 homes — the lowest quarterly total since 2020 — per Redfin. Across WealthyBud’s 933 scored U.S. metros, Johnstown, PA posts the top Investor Score at 85/100, and the median guarded-pool gross rental yield is 4.42% as of September 2026.
Key takeaways
- Real-estate investors bought 19% of U.S. homes sold in the first quarter of 2026, down slightly from 20% a year earlier — a largely unchanged share, per Redfin.
- Investor purchase volume fell 6% year-over-year to 45,397 homes in Q1 2026, the lowest quarterly total since 2020, per the same Redfin report.
- Johnstown, PA leads WealthyBud’s Investor Score at 85/100 among 933 scored metros, guarded against thin-listing outliers.
- The median gross rental yield across 394 guarded U.S. metros is 4.42%; 275 of them (69.8%) clear a 4% cash-flow screening threshold.
- Housing supply has rebuilt to at least its 2019 level in 373 of 927 metros (40.2%), while 354 (38.2%) remain more than 20% below their 2019 baseline.
- Mom-and-pop landlords who own 1–10 properties hold 82.6% of the nation’s single-family rental stock; institutional landlords with 100 or more properties hold about 6.3%, per John Burns Research and Consulting data reported by Wolf Street.
- The U.S. homeownership rate held at 65.3% in the first quarter of 2026, leaving roughly 34.7% of households renting, per the Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey.
What share of U.S. home sales go to investors?
Real-estate investors bought 19% of U.S. homes that sold in the first quarter of 2026, down slightly from 20% a year earlier — a largely unchanged share — on a total of 45,397 investor purchases nationwide, according to Redfin’s investor purchase report.
1. Investor purchase share: 19% of homes sold in Q1 2026
Real-estate investors purchased 19% of U.S. homes that sold in the first quarter of 2026, down slightly from 20% a year earlier, per Redfin’s investor purchase report. A largely unchanged share, not a retreat.
2. Investors bought 45,397 U.S. homes in the first quarter of 2026
The same Redfin report counts 45,397 total homes purchased by investors nationwide in Q1 2026 — the raw transaction count behind the 19% share figure above.
3. 933 U.S. metros carry a WealthyBud Investor Score
WealthyBud scores 933 of its 950 tracked metros on a 0–100 Investor Score that blends momentum, value, rental yield, supply risk and market heat (WealthyBud data · September 2026).
Is investor home-buying rising or falling?
Investor purchase volume fell 6% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026 to its lowest level since 2020, per Redfin — a decline in transaction count that is distinct from the roughly flat 19% market-share figure above.
4. Investor purchase volume fell 6% year-over-year, lowest since 2020
U.S. investor home purchases dropped 6% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026 to their lowest level since 2020, per the same Redfin report — a transaction-count decline, not a share decline.
5. All-cash home purchases fell to 28.8% in March 2026, tied for the lowest March share since 2020
Just under three in 10 (28.8%) of U.S. homebuyers paid all cash in March 2026, down from 29.8% a year earlier and tied with 2021 for the lowest March share since 2020, per Redfin.
6. An average of 19.5% of listings carry a price reduction
Across 950 tracked metros, an average of 19.5% of active listings carry a price cut as of September 2026, a signal of softening seller leverage that widens investors’ negotiating room (WealthyBud data · 950 metros).
Screen all 933 scored metros by price, yield and Investor Score
Which U.S. metros score best for real estate investors?
Johnstown, PA leads WealthyBud’s Investor Score at 85/100, among metros with at least 100 active listings and a $100,000 median price. The Investor Score blends momentum, value, rental yield, supply risk and market heat into one 0-100 composite.
7. Johnstown, PA has the top guarded Investor Score: 85/100
Among metros with at least 100 active listings and a $100,000+ median price, Johnstown, PA carries the highest WealthyBud Investor Score as of September 2026; the next score, 84/100, is held by 2 metros (WealthyBud data · guarded pool of 781 metros).
8. The Investor Score blends five percentile-ranked subscores
Momentum, value, rental yield, supply risk and market heat each contribute a percentile-ranked subscore to the composite 0-100 Investor Score — a research opinion, not investment advice (WealthyBud methodology).
| Rank | Metro | Investor Score | Median price | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnstown, PA | 85/100 | $119,975 | 10.35% |
| 2= | Sterling, IL | 84/100 | $169,200 | n/a |
| 2= | Williamsport, PA | 84/100 | $259,900 | 5.52% |
| 4= | Charleston, WV | 83/100 | $189,325 | 6.46% |
| 4= | Indiana, PA | 83/100 | $198,538 | n/a |
| 4= | Pittsburg, KS | 83/100 | $166,175 | n/a |
| 7= | Kankakee, IL | 82/100 | $266,975 | 5.96% |
| 7= | Peoria, IL | 82/100 | $179,300 | 6.95% |
| 7= | Springfield, IL | 82/100 | $212,200 | 6.80% |
| 10= | Bloomington, IL | 81/100 | $289,500 | 5.40% |
| 10= | Carbondale, IL | 81/100 | $156,778 | n/a |
| 10= | Clinton, IA | 81/100 | $184,700 | n/a |
| 10= | Hutchinson, KS | 81/100 | $228,225 | n/a |
What rental yields can real estate investors expect?
The median gross rental yield across 394 guarded U.S. metros is 4.42%, and 275 of them clear a 4% cash-flow screening threshold. Only 4 metros top an 8% yield, and none has a median price above $179,450.
9. Median gross rental yield: 4.42% across 394 guarded metros
Among 394 guarded U.S. metros (median price ≥ $100,000, active listings ≥ 100), the median gross rental yield is 4.42% as of September 2026 (WealthyBud data · 394 metros).
10. 275 of 394 guarded metros (69.8%) clear a 4% cash-flow screen
275 guarded metros post a gross rental yield of 4% or higher, the baseline threshold WealthyBud’s cash-flow calculator and Investor Score use to flag cash-flow-friendly markets (WealthyBud data · September 2026).
11. The top decile of guarded metros yields 6.33%, versus 4.42% overall
The highest-yielding 39 guarded metros median 6.33%, 1.4 times the 4.42% median across all 394 guarded metros — yield-focused investors concentrate in a narrow slice of markets (WealthyBud data · September 2026).
12. Only 4 of 394 guarded metros clear an 8% yield
34 guarded metros clear a 6% yield and just 4 clear 8%; the priciest of the 34 has a median price of $385,398 (WealthyBud data · 394 metros).
- Johnstown, PA posts a gross rental yield of 10.35% on a median price of $119,975.
- Elmira, NY posts a gross rental yield of 8.58% on a median price of $179,450.
- Decatur, IL posts a gross rental yield of 8.51% on a median price of $149,975.
- Saginaw, MI posts a gross rental yield of 8.12% on a median price of $165,000.
Is housing supply a risk for real estate investors?
The median U.S. metro carries 91.2% of its 2019 active-listing count, and supply has rebuilt to at least 2019 levels in 373 of 927 metros. The remaining metros where supply stays more than 20% below 2019 face tighter competition and less room for prices to soften.
13. Median metro supply is 91.2% of its 2019 level
Across 927 tracked metros, active listings median 91.2% of each metro’s 2019 count as of September 2026 — supply overall remains below its pre-pandemic baseline (WealthyBud data · 927 metros).
14. Supply has rebuilt to 2019 levels or higher in 373 metros (40.2%)
373 of 927 tracked metros now carry active-listing counts at or above their 2019 baseline, a looser-supply signal that favors buyers over sellers (WealthyBud data · September 2026).
15. 354 metros (38.2%) remain more than 20% below 2019 supply
354 tracked metros still carry active listings more than 20% below their 2019 level — the tightest-supply markets, where investors face the least room for prices to cool (WealthyBud data · 927 metros).
Are most real estate investors small landlords or institutions?
Mom-and-pop landlords who own 1 to 10 properties hold 82.6% of the nation’s single-family rental stock, while institutional landlords with 100 or more properties hold about 6.3%, per John Burns Research and Consulting data. Individual investors, not large funds, still dominate U.S. rental ownership.
16. Mom-and-pop landlords own 82.6% of single-family rentals
Landlords who own 1 to 10 single-family rental properties hold 82.6% of the roughly 11.3 million single-family rentals nationwide, per John Burns Research and Consulting data reported by Wolf Street, February 2026.
17. Institutional landlords (100+ properties) own about 6.3% of single-family rentals
Large institutional landlords — those with 100 or more single-family rental properties — hold roughly 6.3% of the national single-family rental stock, per the same John Burns data via Wolf Street.
18. The U.S. homeownership rate held at 65.3% in Q1 2026
The homeownership rate was 65.3% in the first quarter of 2026, not statistically different from 65.1% a year earlier, leaving roughly 34.7% of U.S. households renting, per the Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey, released April 28, 2026.
What this means for real estate investors
For yield-focused investors, the 1.91-point gap between the top-decile and median guarded metro shows the best cash-flow markets are a small, specific slice of the country, not a broad category — screening by metro matters more than buying anywhere with a low price tag.
For investors worried about competition from large funds, mom-and-pop landlords still own more than 13 times as much of the single-family rental stock as institutional landlords do, per John Burns Research data — the individual investor remains the dominant owner type nationally, even in markets institutions target.
For investors timing supply, about two in five tracked metros still carry active listings more than 20% below 2019 levels, which keeps competition for listings elevated in those markets even as investor purchase volume cools nationally.
The gap between a flat market share and falling purchase volume is worth watching: investors are not retreating from the housing market in relative terms, but the overall pool of homes changing hands has shrunk, so fewer transactions are happening at every level, investor and owner-occupant alike.
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