Survey Finds Residential Real Estate Investor Optimism Returns in 2015

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - May 12, 2015) - Visio Financial Services, one of the leading residential real estate marketplace lenders in the U.S., revealed today in its Annual Residential Real Estate Investor Report that investors are responding to a healthier housing market by expanding their property searches, buying in higher price bands and broadening their strategies in 2015. The report highlights growing trends in the multi-billion-dollar residential real estate investment market, indicating that this asset class is growing in popularity as alternative lending fills the financing gap left by traditional capital.

The report surveyed single-family real estate investors who purchase homes to fix-and-flip or to hold in their portfolio as rental properties. According to the data, investors are hungry for more deals and are looking beyond their local markets to find them. In fact, half of all survey respondents indicate they plan to buy four or more properties this year, double the number of investors who did so in 2014.

"Although investment properties are not as abundant as in previous years, investors are finding new and better ways to flip more houses and grow their rental portfolios," explained Visio CEO Jeff Ball. "We lend exclusively to residential investors, so we see the challenges that they face in responding to rapid market changes. The results of our survey support our experience that investors are smart, resilient and resourceful as they embrace the rebounding property market."

Compared with last year's report, Visio found that 63 percent more investors are considering properties over the $200,000 threshold, while interest in sub-$40,000 deals has decreased. Additionally, investors plan to mix their strategies more aggressively, doing both fix-and-flip deals and building up rental portfolios.

"This is a market ripe for rapid growth. Eighty-three percent of our part-time investors expressed interest in going full time, and are seeking fast, simple and dependable financing in order to do so. Of our full-time investors, more than 90 percent are looking to accelerate their businesses with more options for working capital," Ball added. "Each year, our survey continues to tell us that investors want to build their small businesses and are looking for the tools they need to succeed." 

To view the results of the survey, visit http://info.visiolending.com/survey2015.

About Visio Financial Services
Since the company's founding in 2011, Visio has grown to become one of the largest lenders of its kind, funding more than 2,700 residential real estate loans to investors. As the founders of Inc. 500 award-winner Econohomes, a seller of sub-$100,000 investment properties across the country, Visio's leadership saw the gap in the mortgage market for residential real estate investors and created a solution to meet their needs. To date, the company has raised more than $100 million in debt and equity capital to provide real estate loans to investors in 34 states.