IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Institutional home buyers in the United States dropped off sharply in October compared with September, RealtyTrac reported Tuesday.
Institutional buyers are defined as those buying at least 10 properties within the past 10 months.
Across the country, the number of purchases made by institutional buyers dropped from 12.1 percent of all sales in September to 6.8 percent in October, RealtyTrac said. The percentage was down from 9.7 percent in October 2012.
Some local markets, however, are well above the national average. More than 25 percent of home sales in Memphis, Tenn., were made by institutional buyers in October. In Atlanta, 23 percent of sales in the month were made by frequent buyers. More than 22 percent of sales in Jacksonville, Fla., 14.5 percent in Charlotte, N.C., and 12 percent in Milwaukee, Wis., were made by institutional buyers.
In the month, residential property sales, including single family homes, condominiums and townhomes, rose 2 percent from September to an annualized pace of 5,649,965.
The annualized rate is up 13 percent from October 2012.
The median price for a residential property sale came to $170,000 in October, up 6 percent from 12 months earlier.
The median price of a property in foreclosure or seized by a bank was $110,000 in the month, 41 percent below the median price of $185,000 for a so-called "non-distressed" property.
