Research ArticleDescriptive analysisRedfin and NAR
Who Is Buying the American Dream? Investors, Cash Buyers, and the Changing Cost of Homeownership
What Redfin's official records show about investor purchases, all-cash buying and down payments in the Washington, DC metro since 2015 — and what they cannot show.
- Author
- Azmera Abraham
- Publication date
- Reading time
- 7 minutes
Abstract
Investors bought a larger share of homes in the Washington, DC metropolitan area in 2025 than before the pandemic: 10.89% of purchases, up from 7.98% in 2019, according to Redfin's quarterly county-record data. But investors did not buy more homes. They made 5,288 purchases in 2025, 1.07% fewer than in 2019, while all other purchases fell 29.83%. Nationally, investor purchases fell 15.79% and other purchases 29.64% over the same years. All-cash buying, measured separately, has eased: the DC metro's all-cash share was lower than a year earlier in every month from January to June 2026, and June's 18.18% was the lowest since July 2022. Financed buyers' median down payment reached $75,000 in June 2026. Investors, cash buyers, institutional investors, LLC buyers and first-time buyers are different groups, measured by different sources with different denominators; this analysis keeps them apart, describes trends without assigning causes, and lists what the data cannot answer.
Key findings
- 1
Share up, count flat. DC metro investor purchases were 5,288 in 2025 against 5,345 in 2019 (−1.07%); all other purchases fell 29.83%. The investor share rose from 7.98% to 10.89% mainly because other purchases fell.
- 2
Same direction nationally. U.S. investor purchases fell 15.79% from 2019 to 2025 and other purchases 29.64%, taking Redfin's national investor share from 15.31% to 17.79%.
- 3
Latest quarter. In Q2 2026 investors made 9.49% of DC metro purchases, 0.27 points below Q2 2025; the U.S. share was 16.23% (−0.66 points). The DC peak was 13.39% in Q1 2025, the highest in Redfin's series, which begins in 2000.
- 4
Cash buying eased in 2026. The DC metro's all-cash share was below the same month of 2025 in every month from January to June 2026; June's 18.18% was the lowest since July 2022. DC's share has been below the national share in every month since January 2015.
- 5
Bigger down payments. Financed DC metro buyers put down a median $75,000 (12.76% of price) in June 2026, against $30,000 (6.54%) in June 2019, in nominal dollars.
- 6
Not the same buyers. Investor and all-cash shares come from separate files and cannot be linked; institutional investors, LLC purchases and first-time buyers are not measured for the DC metro at all.
Who is buying?
"Investors are buying up all the homes" is one of the most repeated claims in housing. It is also one of the hardest to check, because "investor" can mean a global fund, a family landlord with an LLC, or a family trust. And it is often run together with two other ideas — that cash buyers are winning, and that first-time buyers are being squeezed out.
This project reads Redfin's official county-record data for the Washington, DC metropolitan area and the United States to ask three narrower questions: how much of the market investors account for, how often buyers pay cash, and what financed buyers put down. It keeps each kind of buyer separate, because the data does.
The Washington, DC metro in Redfin's data spans the District and parts of Maryland and Virginia. Nothing here describes the District on its own.
A rising share, a flat count
By Redfin's measure, investors made 10.89% of home purchases in the DC metro in 2025, up from 7.98% in 2019 and 6.86% in 2015. Read alone, that looks like investors moving in.
The counts tell a different story. Investors made 5,288 purchases in 2025 — 1.07% fewer than the 5,345 they made in 2019. What changed was everyone else: all other purchases fell from 61,646 to 43,258, a drop of 29.83%. The share rose mostly because the denominator shrank.
Figure 1
Investor purchases held steady while other purchases fell
Home purchases by buyer type, Washington, DC metro, calendar years
Investor purchases
−1.07%
All other purchases
−29.83%
View data table for Investor purchases held steady while other purchases fell
| Segment | 2019 | 2025 | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investor purchases | 5,345 | 5,288 | −1.07% |
| All other purchases | 61,646 | 43,258 | −29.83% |
The national pattern points the same way, though investors pulled back more: U.S. investor purchases fell 15.79% from 2019 to 2025 and other purchases fell 29.64%, taking Redfin's national investor share from 15.31% to 17.79%.
The most recent quarters are a little lower. In Q2 2026 investors made 9.49% of DC metro purchases, 0.27 points below Q2 2025, and 16.23% nationally (−0.66 points). The DC share peaks in first quarters every year; its highest value in Redfin's series, which begins in 2000, was 13.39% in Q1 2025.
Cash buying has eased
All-cash purchases — sales with no recorded mortgage — are a separate measure in a separate file. Cash buyers include investors, but also downsizers and other owner-occupants with equity, so the two shares should not be read as the same group.
In the DC metro, the all-cash share averaged between 12.92% and 15.44% a year from 2015 to 2020, rose to a high of 22.66% in 2023, and has edged down since. Every month from January to June 2026 was below the same month of 2025, and June's 18.18% was the lowest monthly share since July 2022. The DC metro's all-cash share has been below the national share in every month since January 2015.
Figure 3
All-cash share of home purchases, January–June
Average of monthly shares, 2025 and 2026
Washington, DC metro
United States
- All-cash share
View data table for All-cash share of home purchases, January–June
| Segment | Measure | Jan–Jun 2025 | Jan–Jun 2026 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, DC metro | All-cash share | 21.48 | 20.39 | |
| United States | All-cash share | 30.27 | 27.82 |
What financed buyers put down
For buyers who borrowed, the typical down payment has grown. In June 2026, financed DC metro buyers put down a median $75,000, or 12.76% of the purchase price, against $30,000 (6.54%) in June 2019. Nationally the median was $69,250 (16.36%) in June 2026. These are nominal dollars, and the file has no purchase prices, so the growth cannot be split into higher prices and larger down-payment percentages.
Figure 4
Median down payment, financed purchases
June 2019 and June 2026, nominal dollars
Washington, DC metro
6.54% → 12.76% of price
United States
10.00% → 16.36% of price
View data table for Median down payment, financed purchases
| Segment | June 2019 | June 2026 | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, DC metro | $30,000 | $75,000 | 6.54% → 12.76% of price |
| United States | $31,750 | $69,250 | 10.00% → 16.36% of price |
The DC metro also stands out for how buyers borrow: VA loans made up 16.54% of its financed purchases in June 2026, against 8.18% nationally. FHA loans, often used by first-time and lower-down-payment buyers, made up 11.37%.
First-time buyers: national context only
Redfin's files do not identify first-time buyers. NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers does, nationally: first-time buyers were 21% of primary-residence buyers between July 2024 and June 2025, the lowest since NAR began tracking in 1981, and their median age was 40. NAR also reports that 30% of repeat buyers paid all cash. Because NAR surveys owner-occupants and excludes investors, these figures cannot be compared with Redfin's record-based shares, and there is no DC figure.
What the evidence supports — and what it doesn't
The records support a narrow, descriptive conclusion: since 2019, the investor share of DC metro purchases rose mainly because non-investor purchases fell, not because investors bought more homes; all-cash buying has eased in 2026; and financed buyers are putting down more in dollars.
Several explanations are plausible but untested here:
- Higher borrowing costs may weigh more on buyers who need a mortgage than on investors — but mortgage rates are not in these files.
- Cash offers may win more often in bidding — but the files record financing, not offers.
- The DC metro's high VA share may reflect its military and federal workforce — but nothing here measures occupation.
Editorial note: descriptive analysis of public Redfin data, with national NAR survey context. Investor data through Q2 2026; financing data through June 2026; both subject to revision.
Methods
Sources. Three official Redfin Data Center downloads, retrieved November 3, 2026 (each file last modified November 2, 2026): Investor Home Purchases (investor_home_purchases.csv.gz, quarterly), Investor Home Purchases by Category (investor_home_purchases_categories.csv.gz, quarterly, U.S. only) and Financing Trends (all_cash_loan_types.csv.gz, monthly). Values are used exactly as published; SHA-256 checksums of each file are recorded in the companion explorer.
Geography. Redfin's "Washington, DC" metro (REGION_ID 47894 in the financing file; the investor file uses the same label without an ID) — a region spanning the District and parts of Maryland and Virginia — and Redfin's own U.S. rows. National figures are compared only where the metric and definition are identical.
Investor measure. Redfin flags a purchase as an investor purchase when the buyer in county deed records is a corporation, LLC, partnership or other non-individual entity, or has a name containing LLC, Inc, Corp, Trust or Homes. Investor share = investor purchases ÷ all home purchases (single-family, condo/co-op, townhouse and 2–4 unit).
Financing measures. All-cash share = sales with no recorded mortgage ÷ all purchases. Loan-type shares (FHA, VA, conforming, jumbo) and median down payments cover financed purchases only.
Derived figures. Calendar-year totals sum four published quarters (2015–2025; 2026 is incomplete). All purchases are recovered each quarter as investor purchases ÷ investor share — a whole number to within 0.001 in every quarter — so annual shares are purchase-weighted. All-cash averages for January–June are unweighted means of monthly shares, because the file has no monthly purchase counts. Every year-over-year value was checked against Redfin's own year-over-year columns.
Comparisons. Redfin does not describe these series as seasonally adjusted, and investor shares peak in first quarters, so only like quarters, like months or full calendar years are compared.
National context. First-time-buyer figures come from NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, a national survey of owner-occupant buyers (July 2024–June 2025) that excludes investors; they are context, not a comparison.
Data sources
- Source (opens in a new tab)
Redfin Data Center — Investor Home Purchases
Redfin — Quarterly investor purchase counts and investor share of all home purchases, from county deed records. Investors are entity buyers (LLC, Inc, Corp, Trust, Homes or corporate ownership codes). Category file (property type, price tier) is U.S. only.
Washington, DC metro and U.S. · quarterly · 2015-Q1 to 2026-Q2 used · files last modified November 2, 2026; downloaded November 3, 2026
- Source (opens in a new tab)
Redfin Data Center — Financing Trends: Cash Purchases, Loan Types & Down Payments
Redfin — Monthly all-cash share of all purchases; FHA, VA, conforming and jumbo shares of financed purchases; median down payment in dollars and percent for financed purchases. County records.
Washington, DC metro (Redfin region ID 47894) and U.S. · monthly · January 2015 to June 2026 used · file last modified November 2, 2026; downloaded November 3, 2026
- Source (opens in a new tab)
NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers (2025)
National Association of REALTORS® — Annual mailed survey of recent primary-residence buyers; excludes investors and vacation homes.
U.S. only · transactions July 2024–June 2025 · national context, not compared with Redfin
Limitations
- A broad investor definition. Redfin's flag includes small landlords buying through an LLC and family trusts bought for personal use, and misses investors buying in their own names. It cannot separate institutional investors from mom-and-pop investors.
- Investors are not cash buyers. The investor and financing files are separate aggregates. They cannot show how many investors paid cash, or how many cash buyers were investors.
- No prices. Neither file reports what investors, cash buyers or other buyers paid, so nothing here says whether investors bought cheaper or costlier homes.
- No first-time buyers for DC. NAR's survey is national and covers owner-occupants only.
- County records, subject to revision. Recent quarters and months may change; Redfin's next update is scheduled for December 2, 2026. Areas with poor record quality or non-disclosure laws are excluded by Redfin.
- Nominal dollars. Down payments are not adjusted for inflation.
- National category data only. Investor shares by property type are published for the U.S. only; price-tier rows are not used because their cut-offs are not defined in Redfin's methodology.
- Descriptive, not causal. The analysis shows how counts and shares moved. It does not test why owner-occupant purchases fell, whether investors outbid other buyers, or what role mortgage rates played.
Sources & citations
- Redfin Data Center. Investor Home Purchases (quarterly). File investor_home_purchases.csv.gz, last modified November 2, 2026; downloaded November 3, 2026. https://www.redfin.com/news/data-center/investor-home-purchases/
- Redfin Data Center. Investor Home Purchases by Category (quarterly, U.S. only). File investor_home_purchases_categories.csv.gz, last modified November 2, 2026; downloaded November 3, 2026. https://www.redfin.com/news/data-center/investor-home-purchases/
- Redfin Data Center. Financing Trends: Cash Purchases, Loan Types & Down Payments (monthly). File all_cash_loan_types.csv.gz, last modified November 2, 2026; downloaded November 3, 2026. https://www.redfin.com/news/data-center/financing-trends/
- Redfin Data Center. Methodology — Investor Home Purchases; Financing Trends. https://www.redfin.com/news/data-center/methodology/
- National Association of REALTORS®. "First-Time Home Buyer Share Falls to Historic Low of 21%, Median Age Rises to 40" — 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, press release, November 4, 2025. https://www.nar.realtor/press-releases/first-time-home-buyer-share-falls-to-historic-low-of-21-median-age-rises-to-40