Not surprising. Persistent low-interest rates have caused bond yields to remain low. It appears that institutional investors are buying single-family real estate for greater yield than what they can get in the bond markets. As a bonus, they get inflation protection too.
If You Sell a House, the Buyer Might Be a Pension Fund
D.R. Horton sold an entire subdivision of single-family homes to online investor Fundrise LLC, as more yield-chasing investors buy homes to rent out or flip.
US house prices are being pushed up by pension funds that are outbidding middle-class families and purchasing up to 24% of houses in some areas they then rent out
See the Wall Street Investors Buying Single Family American Homes