Investors have bought up a larger share of America’s homes than ever before, according to Redfin. They purchased a record 20% of homes that sold in the first quarter, up from 19.2% one quarter earlier and 15.3% one year earlier. A decrease in overall home purchases nationwide allowed investors to increase their market share while purchasing fewer homes. 

The number of homes purchased by real estate investors in Q1 declined 11.5% from Q4 2021 and 16.5% from Q3 2021, when investor purchases hit a record high, according to a new report from Redfin. 

Redfin’s analysis is based on county records across 40 of the most populous U.S. metropolitan areas and defines an investor as a buyer whose name includes at least one of the following keywords: LLC, Inc, Trust, Corp, Homes. 

“Investor home purchases are falling for the same reason overall home purchases are falling: Surging interest rates and high housing prices have made it more expensive to get a mortgage and buy a home,” said Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “While roughly three-quarters of investor purchases are made with cash, investors are still impacted by interest rates because they often take out loans to get that cash.”