https://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/investors-bought-m...
It's just not true. Housing prices are rising due to record low interest rates (most people folks on monthly payments, not net cost) and demand shifts due to covid. Housing prices in core cities have largely fallen.
That directly contradicts the definition in literally the second line of your source.
>Investors — any institute or business that deals in real estate
Institute or business, which doesn't include unincorporated individuals with just a couple of extra properties they rent out.
You can tell they're not included because it says in the article that "investors" only bought "26.5% of multifamily homes" (i.e. multi-unit apartments), so unless you're suggesting that 75% of multifamily buildings aren't being bought as an investment, the numbers don't add up.
I do have add-on thought as far as demand shifts contributing to price increases; A lot of the demand was driven by people wanting to move into bigger houses. Those who didn't have enough equity built-up early on could just tack what they wanted onto their selling price and hope for the best.
One more interesting anecdote; In my neighborhood, housing prices have stayed relatively flat since summer of 2020. There are other nearby cities where the prices have increased more, however they often do not have the same property tax rates as where I reside. (prop Taxes are over 1/3 of my monthly 30y mortgage payment, lol)
Housing prices (in certain areas) are high due to low interest rates, covid related demand changes (moves of high income earners from core cities), and wage growth for high income earners.
I bet if I offered you a billion dollars a square foot you'd sell you beloved childhood home. And If you're the 1 in a billion who'd turn down that deal with that amount of money on the line, I can simply bribe the local government for them to expropriate you.