Large investment companies that accumulated thousands of single-family homes in the Valley during the previous housing boom have largely ceased buying properties in Maricopa County. Instead, these institutional investors are divesting their holdings, with new data indicating a significant shift in their market activity during the first half of 2026.
According to analysis of data from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS), institutional investors purchased only 25 homes in Maricopa County during the first six months of this year. In contrast, they sold 298 properties, resulting in a net reduction of 273 houses from their regional portfolios. This selling pace was nearly 12 times higher than their buying rate.
The 25 purchases represented a 67.1% decline compared to the same period in 2025, while the 298 sales were 12.6% lower than the previous year's first half.
Conversely, a different group of corporate buyers known as iBuyers is operating in the opposite direction. Companies such as Opendoor and Offerpad, which typically purchase homes directly from sellers for quick resale, bought 400 Valley homes in the first half of 2026. They sold 256 properties during that same period, making them net buyers of 144 homes.
While their activity level is significantly lower than the peak of the 2022 boom, with purchases down 86.7% from that high, they remain active participants in the market.
Housing analyst Paridhi Saboo, who prepared the analysis while serving as a senior analyst for The Information Market, a subsidiary of the ARMLS, noted that the current trends do not signal a return to the corporate buying frenzy of earlier this decade. Saboo stated that iBuyers are cautiously rebuilding from a smaller base, while institutional investors have almost completely stopped acquiring homes in the county.
