A map compiled by Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, shows a sea of dots signifying corporate ownership throughout the area; the exception is a pie slice-shaped segment extending out from downtown Charlotte — the historically whiter, wealthier neighborhoods often referred to as “the wedge.” More than 93 percent of homes purchased by corporations as of May 2021 were bought for under $300,000. Many of them were in predominantly Black neighborhoods.
Nationwide, large investment companies remain a small fraction of America’s home buyers.
“It’s really difficult to make the case that a handful of companies that own 300,000 homes across the country really have the ability to influence things like home prices and rental rates,” said David Howard, executive director of the National Rental Home Council, which represents the single-family rental home industry.
But their share is growing: Real estate investors bought a record 18.4 percent of the homes that were sold in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2021, up from 12.6 percent a year earlier, according to the realty company Redfin.
And in some markets, especially in the relatively affordable Sun Belt metro areas, their share is far higher.
In Charlotte and Atlanta, investors purchased more than 30 percent of the homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to Redfin. In Jacksonville, Fla., Las Vegas, and Phoenix, they bought just under 30 percent.
Housing industry representatives note that these numbers, which define investors as any institution or business, represent purchases by smaller, local owners, too, who may own just one or two buildings through a limited liability company.
For decades, Marjorie Parker knew all of her neighbors in the east Charlotte neighborhood of Hidden Valley. Living there wasn’t always easy, as gang violence periodically rattled the streets. But Ms. Parker found comfort in the strength of the community and the stable, middle-class life it afforded Black families.
