Five Florida cities dominate national real estate investor market
The American housing market took off during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and home values have been climbing rapidly since. Home sale data compiled by real estate data company Zillow shows that the typical value of a mid-priced home soared by over 20% in the last year, from $284,000 in April 2021 to over $344,000 in April 2022.
Much of the surge in home sales, however, was not driven by families or first-time homebuyers, but rather by investors.
According to realty company Redfin, investors accounted for 18.4% of all U.S. home sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 – or more than one in every six home sales. Real estate investors can be large corporations, like Blackstone, or local companies and wealthy individuals. No matter who the investor is, their goal is the same – to profit from the real estate market, either through flipping homes or converting them into rentals.
Some major metropolitan areas are drawing even more investors than the national average – and Florida dominates the list, with five cities making the national Top 10 list. Jacksonville, Florida, ranked third in the nation for investment real estate, followed by Miami (6th), Orlando (7th), Tampa (8th) and Fort Lauderdale coming in at tenth place nationally.
While the total value of the Jacksonville market was only $712.2 million, the total real estate market share controlled by investors was just under 30 percent, enough to boost it to third in the nation.
Miami investors accounted for an estimated 27.5% of home sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 – equal to more than one in every four home sales. The value of all homes in the metro area bought by investors in the final three months of 2021 totals $2,158,004,581.
Orlando, meanwhile, accounted for an estimated 25.9% of home sales in the fourth quarter of last year. The value of all homes in the metro area bought by investors in the final three months of 2021 totals $1,138,404,449.
In Tampa, investors accounted for an estimated 24.2% of home sales in the fourth quarter. The value of all homes in the metro area bought by investors in the final three months of 2021 totals $1,598,507,095. Finally, in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida metro area, investors accounted for about 21.0% of home sales over the same period – equal to about one in every five home sales. The value of all homes in the metro area bought by investors in the final three months of 2021 totaled $1,143,778,531.
The broad variance in average home prices between different metro markets had a substantial impact on market share, as the table below shows.
| Rank | Metro area | Investor market share, Q4 2021 (%) | Median home price, Apr. 2022 ($) | Total value of investment home sales, Q4 2021 ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta, GA | 32.7 | $430,000 | 2,857.3 |
| 2 | Charlotte, NC | 32.1 | $400,000 | 1,255.1 |
| 3 | Jacksonville, FL | 29.8 | $300,000 | 712.2 |
| 4 | Las Vegas, NV | 29.2 | $435,000 | 1,738.0 |
| 5 | Phoenix, AZ | 28.4 | $460,000 | 3,795.0 |
| 6 | Miami, FL | 27.5 | $525,000 | 2,158.0 |
| 7 | Orlando, FL | 25.9 | $363,000 | 1,138.4 |
| 8 | Tampa, FL | 24.2 | $390,000 | 1,598.5 |
| 9 | Nashville, TN | 21.4 | $465,000 | 800.3 |
| 10 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 21.0 | $465,000 | 1,143.8 |
| 11 | San Diego, CA | 20.3 | $925,000 | 2,352.5 |
| 12 | Anaheim, CA | 19.8 | $875,000 | 2,683.4 |
| 13 | Detroit, MI | 19.4 | $81,700 | 119.1 |
| 14 | Sacramento, CA | 19.1 | $518,000 | 1,181.0 |
| 15 | Los Angeles, CA | 18.8 | $1,025,000 | 6,747.4 |
