HTML from ajax request console logs as object

I am requesting some HTML content via an API using jQuery ajax. The data I get back console logs as an object, even when I parse it with jQuery.

Here is what I am doing

$.ajax({
    url: ajaxUrl,
    success: function(data){

        var html = data
        var parseData = $(html);

        console.log(parseData);


    }
});

I have tried dataType it made no difference. I have tried to find elements within the data return, but that returns the same.

The data I am returning does not have a doctype, html or body tag.

<div class="item">
    <h2>Title</h2>
    <p>...</p>
</div>
<div class="item">
    <h2>Title</h2>
    <p>...</p>
</div>
<div class="item">
    <h2>Title</h2>
    <p>...</p>
</div>

Am I doing something wrong, or is the data being returned wrong?