1012 ET - U.S. real estate investors purchased roughly 52,000 homes in 2Q, the lowest level for that time of year since 2020, according to Redfin. That's down 6% from a year earlier, the biggest drop since 4Q of 2023. Real estate investors are pulling back for similar reasons individual homebuyers are pulling back: high borrowing costs, elevated home prices and economic uncertainty. It's more expensive for investors to finance their purchases than it has been in the past. Even though most investors pay in cash and don't take out mortgages to buy homes, they often take on other loans to fund things like renovations, and interest rates are much higher than they were during the pandemic. Additionally, home prices remain near record highs. Asking rents have also declined from their peak in much of the country. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 04, 2025 10:12 ET (14:12 GMT)

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