Investors, just like house hunters, such as a bargain. And in California that means looking inland.
My trusted spreadsheet Assessed data from Cotality -Flon known as Corelogic-the following the share of single-family home purchases done by people who do not occupy the property. My focus was at the average pace of the past 18 months – last year and the first six months of 2025 – and how those investment patterns compared to the past nine years.
What is striking: seven of the 10 most important increase in the investor share of California in home buyers were not nearly near the Pacific.
Yes, the top two markets for investment purchases are large, expensive metro lines. They are also the places where a typical house hunter is financially unable to buy a house. So, richer investors have a definitely lead.
According to this statistics, San Jose was the general favorite metro of the investor in California. In the last 18 months, investors were on average 47% of all single -family home purchases in San Jose.
That share compared to 27% in 2015-23, one jump of 20 percentage points. So San Jose also witnessed the second largest increase in the 26 markets followed.
No. 2 Metro of investors was the combination of Los Angeles/Orange County, where investors have been claiming 43% of the purchases versus 29% over the past nine years in the last 18 months – the No. 7 over the entire state.
Nevertheless, countless hotspots of investors are some of the relatively affordable locations of California – if there is something in the state really “affordable” homes.
The third most popular place for investors was El Centro, with a share of 40% in the past 18 months compared to 19% in the last nine years. That 21-point rise was the largest in the state.
Salinas was no. 4 by 39% of purchases, the last 18 months versus 26% in 2015-23, the 11th largest increase.
And no. 5 was San Diego, another large and expensive market. The share of 37% investors in the past 18 months increased by 25% in the last nine years – the no. 15 increase.
Negotiation
Consider the location of other subways, not mentioned before, where investor activity grew the fastest. Simply put: no ocean breeze.
No. 3 Hanford: 34% last 18 months versus 16% in 2015-23.
No. 4 Fresno: 36% last 18 months versus 20% over the past nine years.
No. 5 Visalia: 35% last 18 months versus 19% in 2015-23.
No. 6 Merced: 36% last 18 months versus 21% over the past nine years.
No. 8 modest: 34% last 18 months versus 19% in 2015-23.
No. 9 Stockton: 34% last 18 months versus 20% over the past nine years.
No. 10 Bakersfield: 32% last 18 months versus 18% in 2015-23.
Why the interior? Consider affordability indexes of the California Association of Realtors.
In 20 provinces in South California, the Bay Area and the Central Coast, a median of 17% of households could afford to buy this spring. That is less than 21% four years earlier.
In 33 provinces in California outside those mostly coastal markets, the median affordability ran 29% – but that is a lower than 39% in 2021.
Sculpture
Investment purchases are increasing throughout the state.
In general, 33% of California House purchases were made by investors in the last 18 months versus 21% in 2015-23.
Consider what was revealed when the 26 subways were divided into three geographical hubs.
The 12 domestic subways had a median share of 32% investors in the past nine years in the last 18 months – the largest boost between three hubs.
In the past 18 months, investors accounted for 36% of the houses in seven markets in southern California, compared to 25% in 2015-23.
And the seven Bay Area Metro’s? A share of 34% for 18 months increased by 24% in the last nine years.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the news group in South California. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
Originally published:
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