California house investors target most-affordable counties

You’re more likely to find California houses owned by investors in the state’s more affordable communities.

That’s what my trusty spreadsheet found after reviewing a BatchData report from the third quarter of 2025 that calculates investor ownership of houses and townhomes nationwide.

Investors in this study include everything from giant companies controlling thousands of houses to folks with a small collection of rentals to short-term rental operators to people with a second home.