12 Markets Where Investor Activity Is High

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016

Investors have set their sights on Birmingham, Ala. The metro has the highest share of institutional investors in the country, and has seen a whopping 582 percent year-over-year increase in activity.

That said, the share of institutional investors – entities who purchase at least 10 single-family homes and condos in one calendar year – is shrinking nationwide. Still, a few pockets across the country are seeing elevated numbers persist.

Read more: Investors Upbeat, Yet Cautious About 2016

Overall, institutional investors accounted for 2.6 percent of all single-family and condo sales nationwide in the first quarter, down 3.4 percent from a year ago, according to RealtyTrac.

However, among 110 metro areas with at least 1,000 single family and condo sales in the first quarter, the following had the highest share of institutional investor purchases, according to RealtyTrac’s First Quarter 2016 U.S. Cash & Institutional Investor Housing Market Report:

1. Birmingham-Hoover, Ala: 9.9%
2. Augusta-Richmond County, Ga.-S.C.: 7.4%
3. Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.: 7%
4. York-Hanover, Pa.: 6.9%
5. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.: 6.7%
6. Mobile, Ala.: 5.9%
7. Flint, Mich.: 5.9%
8. Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio: 5.9%
9. Akron, Ohio: 5.6%
10. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.: 5.5%
11. Albuquerque, N.M.: 5.5%
12. Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark.: 5.5%

Source: RealtyTrac