The Pandemic Housing Boom was simply too good of a deal for investors to pass up on: Historically low interest rates, easy access to capital, soaring rents, and skyrocketing house prices. That's why everyone from mom-and-pop landlords, Airbnb hosts, to institutional big dogs piled in. At the height of the pandemic housing demand boom, Invitation Homes—which owns 82,837 U.S. single-family homes—was net buyer of 1,523 homes in Q3 2021. While American Homes 4 Rent—which owns 58,693 U.S. single-family homes—a net buyer of 1,292 homes in Q3 2021.
However, that investor frenzy which started in the summer of 2020, abated once interest rates began to spike in spring 2022. The combination of spiked interest rates, coupled with a lack of homes coming for sale in 2023, has translated into something of an institutional home buying freeze.
