Why Small Investors are Winning in Today's Market

While buyers sit on the sidelines, mom-and-pop landlords are scooping up homes

Author

Mike Ugarte
August 29, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

The New Face of Real Estate Investing in 2025

Forget hedge funds, the biggest players in today’s housing market aren’t wearing suits.

They’re smaller, local investors making quiet, fast moves while traditional buyers wait out interest rates.

Across the U.S., mom and pop landlords are snapping up nearly a quarter of all single-family homes, outpacing both big investors and first-time buyers.

Why?

Because they’re moving fast, staying lean, and capitalizing on a window most people don’t even realize is open.

Construction

What This Means Locally

Key Takeaways from the National Report

  • Small investors (under 100 doors) now make up 25% of the single-family rental market

  • Big firms like Invitation Homes and Progress Residential are scaling back or shifting to build to rent strategies

  • All-cash deals and lower overhead give small investors an edge in today’s high-rate environment

  • In some markets, homebuilders are slashing prices. 38% of national builders dropped prices in July

  • Sunbelt markets like Florida have seen a sharp pullback in investor activity, down double digits in Miami, Orlando, and West Palm

Bottom Line:

Even though investor activity is down statewide, Pembroke Pines is still seeing quiet, targeted moves from smaller landlords and real estate entrepreneurs.

We’ve seen it firsthand with our own investor clients, they're actively buying, often in cash, and focusing on value add opportunities

They’re buying the 3/2s that need light work, skipping financing delays, and locking in rental cash flow while the rest of the market hesitates.

If you're a buyer, this means competition isn’t gone, it just looks different now.

Investors aren’t bidding up the top of the market, but they are absolutely taking up the slack in the $500K–$700K range, especially for single family homes with solid rental potential.

If you're a seller?

You might not get 20 offers anymore, but a clean, fairly priced home could still catch the eye of a serious investor, especially if it’s vacant, rent ready, or has a newer roof and A/C.

In short: The investor playbook has changed. And in Pembroke Pines, it’s the small, smart players who are still in the game.