15% of Los Angeles County houses owned by investors

Investors own 213,153 single-family houses in Los Angeles County – or 15% of the market.

That’s a highlight of my trusty spreadsheet’s review of first-quarter investor stats from BatchData, which studied ownership of 1.43 million houses countywide. Statewide, investors own 19% of all houses. Nationally, the share is 20%.

BatchData, a small data tracker that digs deep into property records, reviewed homeownership in order to identify owner-occupied residences compared with those owned by investors. The study includes properties used for short-term or long-term rentals, second homes and vacation retreats. It does not track condos, build-to-rent single-family home projects, or multi-unit properties.

Investors in Los Angeles County bought 2,895 houses in 2025’s first quarter while selling 1,629 houses.

That means investors increased their total ownership by 1,266 houses in the past year. That’s also 10% more net additions than 2024’s first quarter.

Contrast that with the overall sales pace of all single-family houses in the county. It was up 5% in the same 12-month period, according to data from Attom.

For all of 2024, Los Angeles County investors added 5,345 houses – buying 11,905 while selling 6,560.

Compared to the pace between 2020 and 2023, that’s 30% more net additions. Sales of all single-family houses shrank 19% in the same 12-month period, Attom says.

It adds up to a 3% increase in the investor stake in Los Angeles County houses in the 15 months ended in March.

By the way, BatchData found that most California investors are “mom and pop” types, as 91% of investment houses are owned by folks with five or fewer properties.

PS: See data for all California counties at bit.ly/calinvest

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

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