Corporate buyers made 185,850 single-family purchases in 25 U.S. markets

iBuyer.com released new proprietary data on investor activity across 25 metro areas from January through May 2026. The report shows corporate and LLC buyers accounted for 36.5% of tracked purchases, with cash deals, out-of-state ownership and market-by-market concentration varying sharply across the country.

Why it matters: - The report offers a broad snapshot of corporate and LLC buying in the single-family market across 25 major U.S. metros. - The findings show investor activity is uneven, with big differences in cash use, ownership concentration and geography. - The data arrives after the January 20, 2026 executive order titled “Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers,” which sought to restrict financing support for large institutional investors. - The order did not ban institutional buying or force existing portfolios to be sold.

What happened: - iBuyer.com released its 2026 Q1-Q2 Investor Market Report covering 185,850 single-family transactions from January 1 through May 31, 2026. - The dataset spans 25 U.S. metropolitan areas and is described as one of the largest proprietary analyses of corporate and LLC-based single-family buying released this year. - The full national report and individual market reports are available at the full report.

The details: - Corporate and LLC entities accounted for 36.5% of tracked single-family purchases on a weighted average across the 25 markets, or about 67,789 properties. - 62.5% of tracked investor-linked transactions closed in cash. - Indianapolis had the highest cash rate at 73.9%. - Phoenix had the lowest cash rate at 44.6%. - Out-of-state buyers held 14.6% of tracked properties on a weighted average. - Memphis had the highest external ownership share at 27.6%. - Las Vegas followed at 26.0%. - Cincinnati had the lowest external ownership share at 6.6%. - Oklahoma City followed at 7.6%. - The weighted average median value across tracked properties was $365,294. - Memphis had the lowest median value at $133,000. - Miami had the highest median value at $620,000. - New Orleans led all 25 metros with a corporate ownership rate of 53.1%. - Atlanta followed at 52.8%. - Virginia Beach followed at 52.7%. - Las Vegas posted a corporate ownership rate of 28.3%. - Austin posted a corporate ownership rate of 26.8%. - Markets in the Southeast and mid-South recorded the highest corporate rates. - Sun Belt growth markets with newer housing stock and higher median values tended to show lower corporate rates.

Between the lines: - The iBuyer.com Market Insights Team said the data points to fragmentation rather than consolidation. - The team said the largest single corporate buyer holds under 200 properties in most of the 25 markets. - The team said several markets have more distinct corporate entities than corporate-owned properties, meaning the average corporate owner holds less than one property in the dataset. - The pattern suggests the institutional housing market is driven by many small and mid-sized operators rather than a few mega-landlords. - Affordable Midwest and mid-South markets, including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Memphis, Birmingham, St. Louis and Kansas City, posted the highest cash rates and the oldest housing stock. - In most of those markets, pre-1970 inventory exceeded 40% of tracked properties. - Sun Belt markets including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Tampa and Miami showed more institutional platform activity from operators including Opendoor and Tricon. - Those Sun Belt markets also skewed toward newer suburban product and medians ranging from $298,000 to $620,000.

What's next: - iBuyer.com said the report and market-level datasets are available for readers and market participants who want to compare investor patterns across metros. - The executive order could shape future financing conditions for large institutional investors, but the current report only captures activity through May 31, 2026. - Further shifts in cash activity, geographic concentration and ownership patterns will likely depend on how federal agencies implement the order.

The bottom line: - Corporate and LLC buyers remain a major force in U.S. single-family housing, but the new data shows that force is spread across many markets and many smaller operators rather than concentrated in a few giants.