California dropped out of top 10 investor housing markets in 2020

California historically has been a hot market for investor home purchases but that’s changed over the past nine years, to the point where none of the top 10 metros ranked in 2020 were in the state, according to a CoreLogic report published Monday.

The top 10 metros ranked by investor share last year were: Corpus Christi, Texas, 25%; Boise City, Idaho, 24%; Kansas City, Mo., 22%; Atlanta, Ga., 22%; Memphis, Tenn., 22%; Salt Lake City, Utah, 21%; Wichita, Kans., 21%; Provo-Orem, Utah, 21%; Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., 21%; and Springfield, Mo., 20%. In contrast, seven of the top 10 metros based on investor share during 2011 were in California, and during all the intervening years up until 2020, at least one was.

“Investors have most likely shifted their attention elsewhere because of increasing home prices in California metro areas,” CoreLogic researchers said in the report. “In general, investment has grown in metro areas like Boise, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City, which tend to have lower prices and growing populations fueled by California out-migration.”

To be sure, over the long term, California still looks like a relatively hot housing market for investors. When investor share of home purchases between 2011 and 2020 are measured, metros in the Golden State account for four out of the top 10, including the top slot, which was held by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.

Average investor interest on a national basis was slightly lower in the past year. U.S. investor share in 2020 was 15.5%, as compared to 16.3% in 2019. Eviction restrictions may have contributed to this trend, according to CoreLogic.

However, with the federal eviction ban ending, more recent numbers from other sources suggest the investor share may be rebounding this year.