Single-Family Rentals Are Taking Over the Housing Market

Built-to-rent housing projects are expanding across the United States as real estate competition drives away potential buyers, says The New York Times.

Roughly 6% of new single family homes built in the U.S. are rental properties, making home rentals one of the fastest growing sectors of the national housing market.

“Years prior to the pandemic, we found that consumers were drawn to a housing option that combines the best of both worlds: single-family living and no-hassle, maintenance-free leased living,” said Josh E. Hartmann, the chief executive of NexMetro Communities, a developer with two dozen neighborhoods of built-to-rent homes, the majority in the American Sun Belt.

The quality of these built-to-rent homes holds up to that of traditional homes. And for consumers hesitant to put down long-term roots, they may be a better financial bet. “If you don’t think you’re going to be someplace for three years or more, the transaction costs are just too high to buy,” said Norman Miller, a professor of real estate finance at the University of San Diego. “The only downside is you’re going to lose out on the investment aspects of homeownership.”

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