By “individual investor”, I’m more thinking of someone who has $500k to $1MM cash available. He is buying properties in the $100k to $300k range, and either flipping or renting them out, then pulling say 60-75% of the equity out to buy the next one. There’s a huge range between someone who wants to pay $10k down on an REO and has no other assets, and your average individual investor.

This kind of investor will also make a damn careful inspection of each property he’s buying, far more carefully than some REIT will check out a package of 700 properties in unknown shape.

Lastly, the manipulation of the market started long before 2003. Late 90s, I suspect.