Investors in single-family housing are the most pessimistic they’ve been in at least three years, according to a new survey. The quarterly RCN Capital/CJ Patrick Company Investor Sentiment Index dropped for the second straight quarter to an all-time low at the end of June, with just 26% of respondents saying market conditions are better than they were a year ago.
That’s the lowest share since the survey began in 2023, down from 35% in the first quarter. Meanwhile, 45% said the market has gotten worse — the highest reading in the survey’s history.
The survey canvassed more than 300 investors in the fix-and-flip and rental property businesses. Jeffrey Tesch, CEO of RCN Capital, a private lender to real estate investors, attributed the gloom to “the ongoing conflict in Iran, rising finance costs, limited inventory, escalating home and renovation costs and downward pressure on rental rates.”
Financing costs are a major pain point
Mortgage rates hit a recent low at the end of February but rose sharply after the start of the war with Iran. They now sit at their highest level in over a year. More than half of respondents said the high cost of financing is “one of the biggest problems in today’s market,” and three-quarters said they don’t expect any rate relief anytime soon — some even anticipate further increases.
Insurance costs and rising home prices are adding to the strain. Over 60% of respondents expect home prices to climb over the next six months, up from just under 52% in the prior survey. While higher prices can boost the value of properties investors already own, they also raise acquisition costs for new deals.
Purchase activity pulls back
The souring sentiment is showing up in actual buying behavior. Rick Sharga, CEO of the CJ Patrick Company, noted that real estate investors purchased 23% fewer homes in the first quarter of 2026 than they did in the previous quarter and in the first quarter of 2025. The survey also found that 32% of respondents don’t plan to buy any properties at all this year, and only 9% intend to buy more than they did a year ago.
The vast majority of investors surveyed are small to mid-sized operators — a group that contrasts with the large institutional players targeted by the recently enacted 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which generally prohibits investors holding at least 350 single-family homes from acquiring more. Small- and mid-sized investors tend to rely on bridge loans, special investor loans for rental properties, and conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. Of those surveyed, 28% said they paid cash on their most recent purchases.
This story originally appeared in CNBC’s Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/14/housing-investors-say-this-is-their-worst-market-in-at-least-3-years.html
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