Investors bought a record share of homes nationwide and in the Philadelphia metro area last year, with some areas in Delaware County proving to be more attractive than others, write Kevin Schaul and Jonathan O’Connell for The Washington Post.

In Delaware County, Drexel Hill was one of the places that saw higher investor participation. Eleven percent of the homes purchased here in 2021 were bought by investors. Upper Darby Township saw even higher participation ranging from 12 to 15 percent.

Meanwhile, Chester recorded the highest share of homes bought, at 35 percent.

In 2021, investors bought close to one in seven homes sold in the nation’s top metropolitan areas, which is the most in the last two decades.

The purchases were made at a time when buyers are seeing wildly escalating prices.

In the Philadelphia metro area, 15 percent of homes were bought by investors. This is above the average for metro areas.

Neighborhoods with a majority of Black residents have been especially targeted due to having undervalued or lower-priced homes, with investors buying 30 percent of sold homes in majority-Black neighborhoods last year, as opposed to 12 percent in other ZIP Codes.

Read more about the housing market in The Washington Post.