Investors are buying half of homes sold in Tarrant County TX

One in two homes purchased in Tarrant County in 2021 was bought by a company or corporation.

Tarrant County’s share of institutional buyers ranked third nationwide among counties with a population over 50,000. Companies and corporations made up 52% of home purchases in the county in 2021, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.

The report outlined characteristics of areas with a share of investors higher than 30%. In those areas (including Tarrant County):

• The number of households grew 11% on average in the last decade.
• Home prices have increased more than 40% in the past decade.
• Rents have increased more than 30% on average in the last decade.
• Home sales rose about 70% on average in the past decade.

Of the 15 counties with the highest share of institutional home buyers, nine are in Texas: Tarrant, Rockwall, Midland, Dallas, Travis, Denton, Harris, Kaufman and Williamson.

In 2021, 28% of homebuyers in Texas were companies, the highest rate nationwide, and is more than double the national average of 13%.

Sellers reported accepting the offers from these kinds of buyers because they offered cash or purchased the property “as is.”

According to a Realtor survey, of homes purchased by institutional buyers, 42% were converted to single-family rentals and 45% were flipped and resold. That’s in part because 42% of homes sold to institutional buyers were reported as being in need of repair.

This story was originally published June 3, 2022 4:21 PM.

Jess Hardin covers growth and development. After graduating from Georgetown University, she completed a Fulbright grant in Georgia (the country) and did a brief stint of federal service in whistleblower protection. Jess comes to Fort Worth after helping launch digital news start-up Mahoning Matters in the wake of the closure of The Vindicator in Youngstown, Ohio. Send tips to jhardin@star-telegram.com or via Twitter to @jesslhardin.