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79 December 2025 J O U R N A L themortgagepoint.com December 2025 ยป just over 4% from 2024. That means investors still bought more homes than they sold (about 21,000 more in Q2), showing continued confidence in the rental market. The biggest change this year is who's buying. Small investors, such as local buyers adding a few rental properties, made up about 63% of investor purchases, the highest share in nearly two decades. Large investors, including corporations, pulled back and accounted for only about one-fifth of investor purchases. Investors Compete With First-Time Homebuyers Investor activity is the strongest in lower-cost markets. States such as Missouri (18.9%), Mississippi (17.1%), and Nevada (15.4%) saw the highest share of homes bought by investors. Among major cities, Memphis, St. Louis, and Oklahoma City led the pack. This is explained by the fact that these markets offer cheaper homes and steady de- mand from renters. In the Midwest, investors bought properties far below local median prices in cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, and Milwaukee, aiming for solid rental income. In contrast, investors in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco paid premiums for homes, betting on long-term value growth and high rents. Nationally, the typical investor home cost $287,000, about $80,000 less than the median U.S. sale price. That means investors are mostly competing in the same affordable price range as many first-time buyers. With mortgage rates still high and rent demand remaining steady, investors (especially smaller ones) are likely to stay active heading into 2026, keeping competition strong in lower-cost hous- ing markets in particular. BAYVIEW ASSET MANAGEMENT CLOSES GUILD HOLDINGS ACQUISI- TION G uild Holdings Co. (NYSE: GHLD), Guild Mortgage Co. and Bayview Asset Manage- ment LLC, jointly announced that Bayview MSR Opportunity Master Fund LP, a fund managed by Bayview, completed its all-cash acquisition of GHLD that was first announced in June. The transaction was an all-cash deal valued at approximately $1.3 billion in aggregate equity value. Guild will operate as a privately held independent entity of the MSR Fund that also owns Lakeview Loan Servicing LLC, a leading mortgage servicer. Shares of Guild Holding Co.'s publicly traded common stock ceased trading and were delisted from the NYSE in connection with the completion of the acquisition. "Joining Bayview's platform strengthens Guild's commitment to grow our national brand, and it creates one of the strongest and most compelling mortgage origination and servicing ecosystems in the nation," Guild CEO Terry Schmidt said. "The Guild leadership team is excited to bring our expertise in distributed retail origination, retained servicing, and the customer-for-life business model to the MSR Fund. This relationship will fur- ther enhance our mission to deliver the promise of homeownership in commu- nities across the country while fueling innovation and long-term growth." Founded in 1960, in San Diego, California-based Guild Mortgage Co. is a nationally recognized independent mortgage lender that provides resi- dential mortgage products and local in-house origination and servicing. Guild Holdings said it employs a re- lationship-based loan sourcing strategy to help people achieve home ownership in neighborhoods and communities across 49 states and the District of Columbia. Coral Gables, Florida-based Bayview is a global investment manage- ment firm with roughly $36.1 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30. Bayview focuses on investments in residential, commercial, and consumer credit, including whole loans, asset backed securities, mortgage servicing rights, and other credit-related assets. The biggest change this year is who's buying. Small investors, such as local buyers adding a few rental properties, made up about 63% of investor purchases, the highest share in nearly two decades.