50
With home prices staying steady and housing supply remaining
short, the single-family home rental market has persevered despite the
COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to remain on solid footing into
2021, according to those involved in the industry.
Single-family home rentals are popular
for many reasons, not the least of which is
the large down payment obstacle that many
potential homebuyers find economically
daunting. Additionally, many younger
homebuyers want the option of being able
to move as their careers dictate and renting
a single-family home both allows for this
freedom and provides some of the amenities
of buying but without the long-term
commitments.
In addition, multifamily apartments are
becoming less desirable among renters for
several reasons:
» e oldest millennials reached age 40 this
year. ey are now in the prime family-
formation years, so many want a place with a
fenced back yard for their children and pets.
» With the pandemic continuing, social
distancing and limiting human contact is
still a concern among many. at's much
easier to do in a single-family home than in
an apartment in a multi-family apartment
building.
"People value good, quality housing
now more than ever," real estate investment
entrepreneur Tim Herriage said.
e consensus among the experts that DS
News interviewed is that the first two months
of the year were strong, unemployment was
low, the economy was good, and interest rates
were low. But everything stopped short for
the early part of the spring as the economy
shut down in wake of the COVID-19
pandemic. However, for the SFR market, at
least, the pause was short-lived before things
began picking up again.
Jeff Tesch, CEO of RCN Capital, said
that even before the pandemic hit, many
investors who had concentrated on house-
flipping had changed their investment
strategy to focus on buying and fixing up
Cover Story By: Phil Britt
OPPORTUNITY
FOR SALE?
With the nation's demographics shifting and rental becoming more
attractive, single-family rental investment is poised for growth.
