Houston, do we have a problem?

Good afternoon! Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Dear agents,

The Wall Street Journal published an article this week on investors buying homes in bulk to rent out or flip the homes, beating out the average buyer who would live in the home.

Now, when coming across such news, it can be hard to figure out how big of a bulk we're talking about. Big enough to impact the inventory in the overall real estate market, or a specific geographic region? For instance, a New York Times piece last year on the power of Invitation Homes also noted that the home rental firm holds less than one percent of the U.S. single-family market.

However! The Wall Street Journal piece quotes a Houston consulting firm, John Burns, claiming that investors "have lately accounted for 24% of home purchases there."

Twenty-four percent of homes being sold to investors in the fourth-most populous city in the country is a staggering statistic. It suggests that the latest wave of purchases by home-rental firms, private equity, pension funds, and iBuying outfits is a major factor, and perhaps in some areas, like Houston, the major factor for the lack of residential real estate inventory.

Almost every discussion I have with OpenHouse readers circles back, quite understandably, to the glaring lack of inventory.

My question, then: Have you encountered investors swooping in to buy properties previously on the market? Is this an issue that has affected your business? Or, is it not on your radar?

And, while we're here: What might be novel about the latest wave of bulk purchases is iBuying companies. The Wall Street Journal article glancingly mentions OpenDoor, a publicly-traded iBuyer, as a "computer assisted flipper." In theory, iBuyers can both buy homes in bulk and then facilitate bulk sales of said homes to a Fundrise, Colony Capital, Invitation Homes etc.

Are you encountering homes taken off the market by iBuyers and not getting put back on?

Sussing out how investor purchases affect homebuyers and their agents is a complicated subject. So any thoughts and first-hand experiences you could provide would go a long way. Please email me at mblake@housingwire.com; Your anonymity is presumed.

Sincerely,

Matthew Blake

Senior Real Estate Reporter

Does CFPB have authority to postpone foreclosures?

At the peak of forbearance, nearly 6 million borrowers were in some form of forbearance, but over half of those homeowners have since exited.

Download Now: The ultimate strategy to snag seller leads

Mine that database, work that sphere, and get 11 fool-proof strategies for seller lead gen. Get the guide.

Here's how to fix the housing market inventory crisis

Rolled out in isolation, first-time homebuyer tax incentives are only likely to make supply scarcer and prices higher. Instead of just bolstering demand, policies that focusing on increasing supply is what the U.S housing market desperately needs.

Real estate agents and LOs: the great collaboration

Successful agents, brokerages and loan officers of the future are going to rely significantly on technology to find, nurture and engage with buyers and sellers while also playing an expanding role as personal advisors. Presented by Propertybase