Prediction: 3 times more investors than owner-occupants for home sales

Who is planning to buy homes in the next two years?

Investors.

Already a significant share of people buying homes today, investors will be three times as active as conventional homebuyers in the near future, according to a new survey by Move.com.

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"This data suggests today’s climate is hot for investing and is attracting a lot of new people that don’t fit the stereotypical deal-driven flippers that buy and sell properties quickly," Move Chief Executive Officer Steve Berkowitz said in a news release.

According to the survey, 50% of the prospective real-estate investors plan to hold their properties for five or more years, and only 11% expect to sell within a year of their purchase.

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Though all-cash buyers make up a significant percentage of those buying homes today (31% in April), 75.5% of investors expect to borrow at least some of what they need. The survey didn't indicate how they'd accomplish that, but 57% of those surveyed said finding financing is a challenge.<!--EndofExcerptMarker-->

The investors expect the problems that conventional homebuyers are having getting mortgages will help them compete for the best properties.

"The fact that most real-estate investors plan on combining cash and credit for their purchases goes against the conventional wisdom that investor transactions today are mostly cash-only sales," Berkowitz said.

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The survey echoes the findings of a poll by Econohomes, which reported in March that small investors were playing a key role in the market. "Our overriding conclusion from this report is that small, local investors are a critical ingredient in the recipe to solve the housing crisis and stabilize the economy as a whole," Econohomes concluded.

Here are some other findings of the Move.com survey on investors:

• 22% expect prices to rise in the next six to 12 months, 23% expect prices to fall and 53.5% expect prices to remain about the same.
• 59% are new to real-estate investing, and only 36.5% have made more than one purchase.
• 65.7% don't expect repair costs to exceed 20% of the purchase price.
• 48% expect a profit of 20% or more from their investment, or a 4% annual return over five years.
• 27% plan to buy a personal residence as their first investment.
• 30% are interested in buying retirement property as an investment.