Where are house investors most active in California?

"Roughly one in six California houses is owned by someone who doesn't live there - but investors' market clout varies across the state. That's what my trusty spreadsheet found after reviewing a BatchData report that found investors of all sizes own 1.28 million houses statewide - 17% of California's supply of houses and townhomes. Investors in this study include everything from giant companies controlling thousands of houses to folks with a small collection of rentals to short-term rental operators to people with a second home."

"Investors dominate housing in some of California's most lightly populated counties when contemplating the share of houses not occupied by their owners. For example, in Sierra County, 72% of houses are investor-owned. Mono is No. 2 at 64%, then Plumas at 57%, Modoc at 51%, and Alpine at 50%. Most of these investments are likely vacation homes in these hidden spots."

"It's again a southern story when you consider the number of houses investors purchased between 2020 and the third quarter of 2025. Statewide, it was 471,500 purchases. No stats were available for what investors sold. The counties with the most purchases were Los Angeles at 65,496, San Bernardino at 48,889, Riverside at 45,963, San Diego at 30,314, and Orange at 27,962."

Investors of all sizes own 1.28 million houses and townhomes in California, representing 17% of that housing stock; condos were excluded. Investor ownership is largest by count in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, and Orange counties. Remote, sparsely populated counties show the fewest investor-owned houses by number but the highest shares of investor ownership, with Sierra at 72%, Mono at 64%, Plumas at 57%, Modoc at 51%, and Alpine at 50%, often reflecting vacation-home purchases. Between 2020 and Q3 2025, investors purchased about 471,500 houses statewide, concentrated in the same Southern counties.

Read at The Mercury News