Are Big Investors Really Buying Up All the South Jersey Homes? Here’s the Truth.
It’s almost impossible to scroll online these days without seeing some version of this claim:
“Big investors are buying up all the homes.”
If you’re a homebuyer who’s lost out on a few offers in West Deptford or Audubon, this might sound believable. When homes cost more and competition gets fierce, it’s easy to blame corporate buyers.
But here’s the reality. What people assume is happening and what the data shows are two different stories.
Let’s look at what’s really going on with large institutional investors in South Jersey’s housing market. The numbers paint a much different picture than most headlines suggest.
The Number Most People Won’t See Online
Let’s start with the most important fact. According to John Burns Research & Consulting (JBREC), large institutional investors – those that own 100 or more homes – made up just 1.2% of all home purchases in Q3 of 2025 (see graph below):
That’s it. Out of every 100 homes sold in our region, only about 1 went to a large institutional investor.
Here’s what’s often missed in discussions about this topic: this level of investor activity aligns with historical norms. It’s not unusually high at all. It’s actually well below the recent peak of 3.1% back in 2022, which itself was still a small portion of the market.
So while it might feel like big investors are everywhere, they make up a tiny fraction of South Jersey home sales.
Why Investor Activity Gets So Much Attention
There are two key reasons this topic gets so much coverage:
- Investor activity isn’t spread evenly. Investors tend to focus on certain markets, which can make competition feel intense for homebuyers in those specific areas. As Lance Lambert, Co-Founder of ResiClub, explains:“On a national level, “large investors”-those owning at least 100 single-family homes-only own around 1% of total single-family housing stock. That said, in a handful of regional housing markets, institutional and large single-family landlords have a much larger presence.“
- Investor is a broad term. Many headlines lump Wall Street institutions together with small, local investors. Think of your neighbor who owns one or two rental homes. These are very different types of buyers. In reality, most investors in our area are small, local owners, not massive corporations. When all investors get grouped together in the headlines, it inflates the numbers.
Yes, big investors exist in South Jersey. They do buy homes. But they account for a very small share of total purchases – much smaller than most people assume.
The bigger issues around affordability in places like Medford and Cherry Hill relate more to supply, demand, and years of underbuilding than to large institutions competing against everyday buyers.
That’s why separating facts from headlines matters, especially if you’re thinking about buying or selling locally.
Bottom Line
If you want to talk about what investor activity actually looks like in specific South Jersey towns, let’s connect. We track this data closely.
Sometimes a little context makes all the difference when making real estate decisions.
