Investment firms have become the biggest new buyers of U.S. homes — a trend that could make home ownership more difficult for average families.
The idea of big investors buying single-family homes to rent them out is “just in its infancy” in Canada, but is worth watching, according to the president of one of this country’s largest real estate firms. Some advocacy groups fear families can’t compete against money managers with billions in assets.
As interest rates rise and property prices fall across much of North America, deep-pocketed investors such as hedge funds, private equity giants and pension managers are hunting for stable assets to offset inflation and volatile stock markets, according to market observers.
In the first quarter of 2022, investors made up a record 28 per cent of U.S. single-family home sales, according to a report published in June by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, compared to less than 20 per cent a year earlier.
