If you've tried to buy a house lately, you might have found yourself running up against some unexpected competition: investors. Time was, the single-family housing market was pretty much the sole province of individual owners, or maybe a few small-time partnerships. But after the housing bubble burst, big institutional investors swooped in to buy up millions of houses for pennies on the dollar. And to almost everyone's surprise, they've kept buying even as prices have rebounded. One in five starter homes sold in the U.S. last year were bought by investors. In some markets, it was closer to half. All those investors mean more competition for ordinary buyers, at a time when affordability is already a huge challenge in many cities. But it's a complicated story -- investors are also helping to rehab homes that were abandoned in the foreclosure crisis. In today's The New York Times , Conor Dougherty and I explore this trend through one home in Atlanta, which was sold three times in less than a year -- and nearly quadrupled in price. Don't miss the drone footage! #housing #housingmarket #economy #realestate #atlantarealestate #atlanta …see more