Institutional Investors Are Not Competing With Homebuyers
Posted by Hank Miller on
Institutional investors are not the enemy of traditional homebuyers. They do not compete for inventory; traditional homebuyers cannot buy what real estate investors buy. 89.6% of single-family rentals are held by “mom-and-pop” landlords who own between 1 and 5 rental properties. The media continues to do an outstanding job of misrepresenting what a “real estate investor” is, conflating “institutional investors” with the “mom and pop” investor. It makes for fantastic click bait given the public’s 10 second attention span. The MSM should examine the “rules” traditional homebuyers are subject to as well as what those in the lower price tier are up against. It will then be obvious; there is no competition. In fact, institutional investors were net SELLERS…
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Our predictions for the 2026 Greater Atlanta real estate market are a bit different than the other talking heads. We developed our expectations in the field, not from behind a desk. We’re out in the dirt every single day, this is all we do. Our opinions are granular; based on LOCAL data, interaction with other local professionals, and a dash of trusted regional/national data. We consider ResiClub the most credible of those, a fantastic aggregator and their presentation is thorough and completely unbiased.
Parts of the south Atlanta real estate market are showing signs of weakness, a general lethargy. While the broad region is largely stable, several areas of the metro area are flashing yellow. These areas are mainly south of I-20 where a significant amount of post pandemic activity was experienced. Similar traits were noted during the '08-'12 bubble-crash, increased attention and then giving back the gains made. As then, we see the influences of builders, ownership programs, and speculators possibly at play. This is a different housing market, but patterns are developing which should be watched.
Wake up! Is the Greater Atlanta housing market in trouble? These Q1'25 charts show a market that was active as Ole Red after he raided the garbage. This wasn't a local trend, Q1'25 across the nation was a snooze fest. Underwhelming; to be sure. Alarming; no, but we expected to see a return of the typical patterns.
this January. We in the field felt it, I was curious so took a look at the data…and it confirms what we thought. This is a stumble; this market will snap back, but we see a few reasons for this lackluster start.
We're bullish on the spring '25 Atlanta real estate market. Now that the "interest rate" situation appears over and the election is done, this market can get back to being boring. Boring real estate is good, boring housing markets are safe and predictable. Significant challenges remain, but with the election over what appears to be an end to the "Fed Watch" on rates, things should settle down. One unknown is how agent compensation is received now that it is in effect. Q4 was the roll out, this spring will be a chance to see how that plays in a busy market.
“Why didn’t mortgage rates drop when the Fed cut the discount rate?” A simple question with so many variables that even experts can’t agree. The focus seems to always be on “the Fed”; how does all of the economic news impact decisions made by the Federal Reserve? Through most of 2024, all eyes were on the Fed as everyone wondered if they would cut rates. They finally did in Sept and again in Nov…and mortgage rates, well, they remain about where they were. So, what happened? But, did anyone (other than the disingenuous media) really think rates were getting into the 5's or lower? No one here, nor anyone associated with legitimate real estate organizations, did.
occurred, values have not missed a beat. To be fair, the "metro Atlanta" region is far to large and diverse to paint with one brush. However, this data is useful in providing a good indicator of macro trends. Every submarket is different, as is every type and price point. Success is found by working with skilled professional agents, not some hobby hack agent with ten other side hustles. Below is a review of the six major metro counties and all price points.
estate industry experts"…all of them. Straight up gaslighting you. Telling you about dropping rates, dropping prices and increasing inventory. They're straight up BS'ing you.