As percentage of the entire market, 1% is small. But prices are set on the margin: the currently active buyers and sellers. Only a small fraction of the entire

As percentage of the entire market, 1% is small. But prices are set on the margin: the currently active buyers and sellers. Only a small fraction of the entire housing stock churns over each year. So if institutional investors want to buy a few thousand homes, it's absolutely substantial on its impact to prices. Only 40,000 homes are sold annually in San Diego county, despite there being 1.4 million residents.