Landlords are a growing part of the U.S. residential housing equation, with 37% of homes purchased last year bought by someone that did not live in them, according to a new report from Attom Data Solutions and Clear Capital.
With the surge in foreclosures during the Great Recession, private equity firms swooped in to buy houses, making up 7.8% of sales in 2012. But, as home prices have risen, big investors have backed out of the market. Last year, institutional investors made up 2.9% of home sales.
Smaller investors moved into that space, many relying on new technology that makes it easier to invest in and manage rental properties, Bloomberg reports.
The national homeownership rate remains near a 50-year low, according to the report, with a rapid rise in home values driving up homeowner equity, but also pricing out first-time buyers.
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