Almost one in every five U.S. homes sold in the third quarter of 2021 was purchased by an investor entity, rather than an individual looking to live in or rent out the residence, according to data from Redfin, a real estate brokerage. Investors bought more than 90,000 houses totaling more than $63 billion, representing 18 percent of all homes sold in the quarter. The numbers all broke records in Redfin data reaching back to 2000. “Increasing home prices fueled by an intense housing shortage have created opportunities for investors to reap big profits,” Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said in a Nov. 15 statement. “Those same factors have pushed more Americans to rent, which also creates opportunities for investors because investors typically turn the homes they purchase into rentals and can now charge higher rents.” Rent for single-family homes surged by more than 10 percent in the 12 months through September, …