Investors Backing Out of 'REO-to-Rent' Market via AOL Real Estate

For the past three years they have been swarming over the hardest-hit housing markets, buying distressed properties in bulk and pushing prices higher by double digits. The idea for these investors was not to buy and flip, but to hold and rent. Now some investors say that they have priced themselves out of the market.

"Higher prices are reducing returns on investment, and investors are responding by cutting back on their purchasing plans until conditions sort out," said Chris Clothier, a partner in MemphisInvest.com and Premier Property Management Group, which commissioned a national survey of investors conducted by ORC International. "Fewer foreclosures, rising property values and competition from hedge funds are making it tough to find good deals on distress sales."

Nearly half the investors surveyed said that they planned to cut back on purchases of homes in the coming year; in a survey last August, just 30 percent said they planned to cut back. Only 20 percent of investors said they plan to increase purchases, compared with 39 percent who said they would last August. All this could have a significant impact on the housing recovery.

Read more...Investors Backing Out of 'REO-to-Rent' Market | AOL Real Estate