Investors Storm Housing Market

Investors are snatching up cheap houses, hoping to turn a profit when the market picks up, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some are foraging far and wide for potential purchases; others are locals who know the ins and outs of the area market. Investors often make all-cash offers, helping them beat out would-be homeowners looking for new digs.

“Foreclosures are low-hanging fruit at the moment,” says one investor, though competition among buyers is getting tighter. Still, that may change when banks end a moratorium on foreclosures this year. And when investors start selling, supply could once again soar. “All this investor buying isn't depleting supply, it's only shifting it around,” says one.
(More housing market stories.)