[NickC25]

> institutional investors purchase only 3% of homes nationwide (but much higher in some cities).

This is crucial. People are in cities - in the day and age of corporate consolidation, less and less jobs are available, and they are increasingly in-office, and increasingly in only a select few metro areas.

Nobody would give a damn if a glut of housing was built in the middle of South Dakota or Maine or Wyoming. That's because there's very little to no jobs growth in those regions.

[BeetleB]

Most people are in cities, and most rentals in cities are not owned by then - except for the exceptions pointed out (Midwest and Southeast).

If you're having trouble buying a house in Atlanta, yes - they are a big factor.

In Austin? No - not a big factor.