Bulk Investors And The Real-Estate 'Recovery'

Via Pater Tenebrarum of Acting-Man blog, Bulk (Wall Street) buyers have been receiving a lot of attention recently. It's time to take a closer look. There is little data available pertaining to bulk investors and even less meaningful analysis. Historically, Wall Street has never been active in direct ownership of single family homes, so there is no past histrory to learn from. We need to start from scratch. How big are these bulk buyers? A few months ago, I read a report that Keefe, Bruyette & Woods estimated Wall Street had raised $6 billion to $8 billion so far, which is really a paltry sum in the world of high finance. It is impossible to estimate how much small investors are adding to this investment pool. We also have no clue how much this pool may grow over time, or whether it will  soon be exhausted and shrink instead. Investors typically buy lower end properties. Say at...