The dynamics of the single-family rental investment market of late has been a classic question of whether the chicken or egg came first. Did investor purchases drive up prices and rents, or did an increase in prices and rents attract investors? A bit of both in either a virtuous or vicious circle, depending on your orientation.

According to the CoreLogic analysis, it started with the pandemic, as home prices nationally lifted 41% between 2020 and 2022. "During this period, investor activity in the housing market hit an all-time high. In 2021, investor made 23% of all single-family home purchases, and by 2022, that figure was 25%," they wrote.

The analysis suggests that at first there was generally little correlation between rent increases and investor interest in a given area. But then as rents began to increase, investors would enter that market more strongly, suggesting that investors didn't cause the jump in rents but followed them, at least at first.