Investment Buyers Blocking Homebuyers Out of Market

New York, NY, May 21, 2021-In places where until a year ago properties offered affordable entry to the middle class, would-be buyers are losing out to investors and deep-pocketed rivals, reports the Wall Street Journal. “Around Allentown, Pa.-where open houses trigger traffic jams and properties sell in 48 hours-the median listed home price in January was up 24% from a year earlier. In Kendallville, Ind., about 30 miles outside Fort Wayne, the jump was 56%; in Martin, Tenn., 150 miles from Nashville, 159%.

“Local buyers bid against one another as well as against investors who now comprise about a fifth of annual home sales nationally. Online platforms such as BiggerPockets and Fundrise make it easier for out-of-town investors to buy real estate in smaller cities across the U.S., said John Burns of California-based John Burns Real Estate Consulting.”