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54 rental product is going to continue in good times and bad, in COVID-19 or with no COVID-19. People want to rent properties and participate those transactions. "e other thing that's really driven the surge is that people are really starting to recognize they can work remotely," Tennyson added. "If I'm working remotely, why do I need to be cooped up in a one-bedroom or studio apartment in an urban center? ere are so many other places I could live and rent for better pricing and have much more room and a much better quality of life. at's driving the demand for rental product all over the United States." MORATORIA CONCERNS ough government-mandated moratoria have given struggling renters and homeowners the legal right not to make payments, there's been very little impact on the single-family home rental market, stakeholders suggest. As long as landlords took care of properties and had a good relationship with tenants, most continued to pay their rents, according to Tessar. "When COVID-19 hit most of our competition, as much as 75% stopped lending and some of those never came back to the market. Many of those who did limped back." "We've experienced less than a 2% delinquency rate for 2020 on our portfolio," Pintar said. "People do whatever they can to protect their housing. By and large, people do the right thing. If they can pay their bills, they're going to pay them." Others that DS News spoke with agreed that delinquencies have been extremely low during the pandemic, anecdotally noting that few of their renters had taken advantage of the moratoria if they didn't need to. Several single-family rental stakeholders interviewed agreed that government stimulus checks likely helped many renters avoid sliding into delinquency. Inventory shortages have remained one of the primary inhibiting factors impacting both the broader housing market and SFR in particular. Jeffrey Tesch, CEO, RCN Capital, told DS News, "ere was already a shortage of single-family homes pre-pandemic, and then home listings declined substantially last year because of COVID-19 adding to the problem. Couple that with low mortgage rates, and competition for properties is at an all-time high throughout most of the country." As a result, investors are caught up in the same bidding wars challenging other homebuyers. It's more important than ever for investors to conduct their due diligence and remain "savvy," Tesch suggests, "not getting caught up in the frenzy of the market, and [making sure that] the deal makes sense, so they can get a return on their investment." Brian Flaherty, COO, Global Strategic, ticked off some of the ways that COVID- 19's impact continues to be a factor within the SFR industry, "With decreased rental revenues due to the moratorium, coupled with decreased inventory and high demand, the need to service clients and tenants while managing vendors and costs is more demanding than ever." Flaherty said that he expects those pain points to shift over the coming months, with a lack of inventory possible being buoyed by an influx once foreclosure moratoria lift. "en there will be the issues of how to manage an influx of inventory, and placing underemployed, unemployed, or foreclosed-upon tenants into rental units." Pintar added that the economy is stronger than many people realize. As such, there are usually people ready to rent a single-family property even if the current tenant is forced to leave. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, none of Lima One's rental loans went into delinquency, Tennyson said. LOW RATES CONTINUE TO HELP DRIVE MARKET STRENGTH e interest rates for single-family investors as of April were lower than they were prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to Tessar, who credits Wall Street firms continuing to chase yield. Civic has "With decreased rental revenues due to the moratorium, coupled with decreased inventory and high demand, the need to service clients and tenants while managing vendors and costs is more demanding than ever." —Brian Flaherty, COO, Global Strategic Cover Story By: Phil Britt

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