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Average U.S. Home Seller Profits Hit New High

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ATTOM Data Solutions’ Year-End 2019 U.S. Home Sales Report shows that home sellers nationwide in 2019 realized a home price gain of $65,500 on the typical sale, up from $58,100 last year and up from $50,027 two years ago. The latest profit figure, based on median purchase and resale prices, marked the highest level in the U.S. since 2006. That $65,500 typical home seller profit represented a 34% return on investment compared to the original purchase price, up from 31.4% last year and up from 27.4% in 2017, to the highest average home-seller ROI since 2006. Both raw profits and ROI have improved nationwide for eight straight years. However, last year’s gain in ROI—up less than three percentage points—was the smallest since 2011. Among 220 metropolitan statistical areas with a population greater than 200,000 and sufficient historical sales data, those in western states continued to reap the highest returns on investments, with concentrations on or near the West coast. Metro areas with the highest home seller ROIs were in San Jose, California (82.8%); San Francisco, California (72.8%); Seattle, Washington (65.6%); Merced, California (63.2%) and Salem, Oregon (62.1%). The top four in 2019 were the same areas that topped the list in 2018. The U.S. median home price increased 6.2% in 2019, hitting an all-time high of $258,000. The annual home-price appreciation in 2019 topped the 4.5% rise in 2018 compared to 2017 but was down from the 7.1% increase in 2017 compared to 2016. Among 134 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more and sufficient home price data, those with the biggest year-over-year increases in median home prices were South Bend, Indiana (up 18.4%); Boise City, Idaho (up 12.6%); Spokane, Washington (up 10.9%); Atlantic City, New Jersey (up 10.6%) and Salt Lake City, Utah (up 9.6%). Nationwide, all-cash purchases accounted for 25.3% of single-family home and condo sales in 2019, the lowest level since 2007. The latest figure was down from 27% in 2018 and 27.7% in 2017, and well off the 38.4% peaks in 2011 and 2012. However, this is still well above the pre-recession average of 18.7% between 2000 and 2007. Distressed home sales—including bank-owned (REO) sales, third-party foreclosure auction sales and short sales—accounted for 11.5% of all U.S. single-family home and condo sales in 2019, down from 12.4% in 2018 and from a peak of 38.8% in 2011. The latest figure marked the lowest point since 2006. Institutional investors nationwide accounted for 2.9% of all single-family home and condo sales in 2019, down from 3% in 2018 to the lowest point since 2015. Nationwide, buyers using Federal Housing Administration loans accounted for 11.9% of all single-family home and condo purchases in 2019, up from 10.6% in 2018. The increase marked the first rise since 2015. Among 197 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000 and sufficient FHA-buyer data, the top four with the highest share of purchases made with FHA loans were in Texas. Those with the highest levels of FHA buyers in 2019 were McAllen, Texas (30.4% of sales); El Paso, Texas (26%); Amarillo, Texas (24.4%); Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas (23.7%) and Visalia, California (23.5%). The four Texas metros were the same that led the list in 2018.

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Raising Receivables Recovery

FCO’s 10 debt collection best practices for rental property managers Even in today’s healthy economy, the residential rent receivables that are written off as uncollectible remain at high levels. According to the National Apartment Association’s 2019 Income and Expense Survey, rents and damages sent for collections range from $79  to $103 per unit per year—or 0.5%-0.8% of Gross Potential Rent, depending on property type. Renters’ debt disputes are more complex and frequent compared to a decade ago. Savvy ex-residents rely on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to ask for evidence of the debt and to dispute the amounts owed. Consumer attorneys and credit repair organizations increasingly deploy technology to supercharge FDCPA and FCRA challenges to property managers’ debt claims. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) provides a new avenue—and ally—for debtors to complain about lease charges. And, call-blocking technology enables consumers to duck debt-related contacts. To fend off these challenges, a well-tuned collaboration between a third-party collection agency and a property manager is essential to maximizing recovery of what is owed  and minimizing litigation risk. Liquidation recovery and litigation exposure can improve by a factor of six to 10 times between well-run property management firms and those with lax operations. Here are 10 collections best practices to help rental property managers increase recovery and reduce avoidable risks. 01 Integrate Integrating the placement of accounting detail and documents from client property management software(s) to agency regularly increases the number of opened accounts, speeds time to placement and reduces inaccuracy and incompleteness. All three factors contribute to better compliance and higher recovery. 02 Provide documentation at placement to support the balance sought Be sure to have a signed lease and application, identification of the debtor, final account statement itemizing charges, repair invoices to support claimed damages and move-in/move-out inspection reports and photos. The latter documentation is easiest to obtain right after moveout. 03 Meet with the resident at move-out to review charges A move-out review of the condition of the property and itemization of charges in the final account statement provided to the ex-tenant can ease sub-sequent recovery of unpaid balances. Of course, this isn’t always possible. If the tenant skips out, ensure that the final account statement is sent to the tenant’s provided address to give adequate notice for payment before placing the account in collections. Finally, consider a “handoff letter” to the debtor, making them aware their account is being placed in collections. 04 Damages demand documentation As a rule of thumb, the documentation a property manager must provide under state security deposit law in order to withhold from a security deposit (e.g., repair invoices) should also be available to support the damages in a debt claim. Generally, damages owed must be more than normal wear and tear. 05 Follow the lease For tenants who exit before the lease is up, ensure that the date of re-renting is included with the placement if the lease allows to charge for unpaid rent until the unit is re-rented. Where a liquidated damages provision is applied, make sure the property manager is not also charging actual damages at the same time when the lease provides for only one method at a time. 06 Operators’ charge-off policies matter  Is the property operator charging for full flooring cost replacement for a short-term tenant who moved into a property with aged carpet and tile? Are additional charges for HOA-required fees added at move-out, but not clearly specified in writing at move-in? These practices may well be challenged. Instead, consider prorating as appropriate, and make sure that fees to be charged are identified—in writing at the beginning of the lease—as a tenant responsibility. 07 Ensure tenant authorizations are broad enough A well-tuned application or rental agreement makes clear that the landlord has permissible purpose under the FCRA to pull consumer reports for lease-related purposes that include both collections and move-in tenant screening. Good leases also make clear that the tenant agrees to accept email, mobile and text communications and to update provided contacts. These authorizations become more important under proposed new FDCPA rules for debtor communications. 08 After placement, let the agency handle it Communications with ex-tenants and guarantors who are represented by counsel can be a problem. Where a property learns a debtor is represented by counsel, communicate this to the agency. Forward the agency the attorney’s letter of representation, if one has been provided, along with any attorney inquiries. Another area of concern is credit repair organizations, which take a fee from debtors to clean up their file. They may ask an unwitting property manager to delete credit reporting in exchange for settling the debt. Forward these communications to the agency to resolve as well. 09 Go legal selectively If you want to pursue garnishment or other legal action (where permitted by law) to secure what’s owed, make sure the debtor’s ability to pay and the amount owed are large enough to sustain court costs and delays. Also, be prepared for affidavits to sign and witnesses to send. Courts may ask the maintenance tech who walked the unit at moveout, for example, to appear to testify. 10 Respond promptly when asked A consumer’s dispute may be subject to tight response timelines by the collection agency and property manager, especially where a credit bureau is involved. Often, the agency needs only a property manager’s verification of the amount owed, or the confirmation of a prior resident’s identity. Sometimes this request may come a year or two after moveout, when the ex-resident is back on their feet and wants to make good on her obligations. Prompt client responses to these agency requests speed resolution and improve recovery. The road ahead? Technology will continue to be both sword and shield in rental collections; that is, it will create new paths for consumer challenges, but ease document transfer through no-cost collection agency integrations. Well-run rental operators in clear dialogue with their collection agency can optimize debt recovery and limit litigation

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Regional Spotlight: Baltimore, Maryland

A Closer Look at the Charm City’s Persistently Resurgent Real Estate Market Baltimore, Maryland, has long been a city of contradictions. Simultaneously holding positions on national “top 10” lists for “new tech hot spots” (Forbes), “top 10 U.S. foodie cities” (Yelp), “best places to live” (Livability), and “most dangerous U.S. cities,” part of the Charm City’s charm seems to be an incorrigible contrarianism. That is great news for its real estate investors. Thanks in large part to its proximity to Washington D.C., a historic waterfront and bustling Inner Harbor, burgeoning jobs market, and a recently renewed dedication to public-private investment partnerships, Baltimore offers real estate investors an array of options for generating both short-term and long-term returns. That is, of course, if you understand the local market or can work with someone who does. “At first blush, the Baltimore housing market would seem like a bad investment to a lot of investors,” said Marco Santarelli, founder and CEO of real estate investment firm Norada Real Estate Investments. “However, there is significant opportunity in the Baltimore real estate market for investors, and not just because the metropolitan area is home to nearly 3 million people. Recent market trends indicate a high probability of appreciation in the market over the next 12 to 24 months, with the competitive market making it highly likely that prices will remain high even if rates of appreciation level off.” Since the start of 2010, Baltimore home prices have risen nearly 18.2%, while housing inventory has plummeted by nearly 40%. The result is an extremely tight market, rife with opportunity for investors in a position to acquire either single- or multifamily rental assets. Given that Baltimore home values have risen more than 8% over the past three years and appear likely to rise higher over the course of 2020, many analysts warn that the market could be poised to topple toward the end of 2021. In the face of local policies dedicated to population growth and new development,  this scenario seems unlikely. Further, local investors are not concerned. “Today, we own more than 700 properties in the Baltimore area,” said Fred Lewis, founder of the Dominion Group, a group of nine operating companies and five business segments based in Baltimore and operating throughout the U.S. Lewis is also the founder of Real Investor Roundtable, an investor mastermind for experienced real estate investors. “The Baltimore market can be difficult to learn. You have to understand the dynamics of every street in the city,” Lewis explained. “It has a uniqueness that works for investors willing to work hard, learn the market and understand the nuances.” Sean Renehan, development officer for real estate private lender Walnut Street Finance, agreed that the Charm City can be very nuanced. “There is so much history in this city, and it makes Baltimore a ‘neighborhood city’ more than most cities of this size,” he said. “Every neighborhood has a different flavor, and investors can really thrive when they begin to understand this.” Overcoming Obstacles with Creativity and Willpower One of the biggest stumbling blocks for many real estate investors who consider placing capital in Baltimore properties or projects is the city’s trend of population loss over the last seven decades. These trends can be misleading and confusing when it comes to investment opportunities, although they are indisputably a problem for lawmakers and the city’s general reputation. Between 1950, when the city posted its peak population of 949,700, and 2010, the city lost more than a third of its population. Since 2012, when the population appeared to be slowly expanding once again, Baltimore’s population trajectory has been bumpy. In 2018, the city appeared once again to experience significant population loss (about 1.5%) since that 2012 benchmark. Investors should note that somewhat rocky population trends for the city of Baltimore do not necessarily extend to the Baltimore metro area. In fact, U.S. Census Data indicates the Baltimore metro area population numbers exceed 6.7 million, making it the 20th largest metro area in the country. That population consists in substantial part of young professionals between 19 and 33. About a third of the metro area’s incoming population has not yet celebrated their 30th birthday, according to statistics from the Applied Population Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin. Those residents tend to move outward toward the suburbs as they age. This creates an ongoing and growing demand throughout the extended metro area for multifamily construction and single-family residences for young families. That population creates a strong demand that powers many of Baltimore’s investing operations, including Jarrett Walker’s Wallcrest Homes LLC, which caters mainly to first-time buyers and individuals investing in homes they expect to hold for a relatively short amount of time before moving on. “We invest in single-family residential and small multiunit properties that are in the ‘sweet spot’ of $200,000 to $300,000 when they are listed,” Walker explained. He has been investing in the Baltimore area for several years on an individual basis and began investing under his Wallcrest Homes banner in 2018. “We decided to focus on that area of the market because it enabled us to produce quality products our buyers are proud to own and created opportunities for us to participate in revitalizing communities in the Baltimore area,” Walker added. “We picked Baltimore over other markets in close proximity [Annapolis and Washington D.C.] because it was the best-suited to our goal of giving back to communities and the local government is the best for investors to work with in terms of zoning, regulations, etc.” A Changing Landscape for Housing As is the case throughout much of the U.S., the preferences of the young professionals and young families currently buying and renting the housing inventory in Baltimore are changing the face of the urban and suburban landscape in the area. The city has made a very public commitment to reinforcing partnership activity between public and private interests (P3), creating a uniquely supportive environment for groups that gain clearance for new development. “Baltimore’s good

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The Business of Building Long-Term Value

Fred Lewis and Real Investor Roundtable measure their success by yours. When Fred Lewis founded Dominion Group in 2002, he was mainly interested in lending money to real estate investors and acquiring properties. “Our company focused mainly on providing acquisition and construction funds to investors acquiring rentals and doing fix-and-flip transactions, but I quickly also got into buying my own investment properties as well. That was a very opportunistic time to be investing in real estate,” he said. The time may have been nearly ideal for getting started in real estate, but Lewis quickly discovered that even in the most idyllic of conditions, there are lessons to be learned. In his case, because he was lending and acquiring investment properties at the same time, he learned those lessons from both sides of the equation. “I learned the hard way, as most investors do, that investing is not as easy as it sounds. You build up an expertise by actually learning how to acquire, renovate, stabilize and rent, and finance properties,” he said. “Nevertheless, I was able to grow my business as a result of my dual role as a lender and an investor buying and selling on my own. I also ended up creating a property management company once I got to around 50 rental units. I realized that I had to learn to efficiently manage rental units and create best practices as no one would ever manage my rentals the way I would as the owner.” The businesses that would form The Dominion Group thrived as the country approached the housing crash, but unlike most real estate businesses, Dominion did not falter when the bottom fell out of the market. The reason, Lewis said, lay in the synergy between the lending and the real estate businesses and experience as “Main Street” investors. “Everyone’s business models were tested during that time,” Lewis said. “The fact that we were ‘real estate guys’ and could help and guide clients through that time and, when necessary, take inventory back and reposition it as a rental was very important to our successful navigation of that time in the market’s history.” At the end of the downturn, Dominion Group emerged stronger than ever, something that has led Lewis, his business partner Jack BeVier, and several other colleagues in the industry to place an extremely high value on continuing education among successful, active investors in the industry. “A lot of smart investors who just did not have the best systems and operations in place went under very quickly when the market crashed,” Lewis said. “On the other hand, we were able to weather the storm and, in 2009, when everyone else was just trying to stay afloat in a very harsh environment, we looked at our business models, professionalized our lending platforms and ultimately experienced significant growth during that period.” Today, Dominion has become a premier national lender that is able to provide loans in 49 states. “We are proud to be a Main Street lender for Main Street investors,” Lewis said. “We understand their goals, their pain and what they need to do to be successful because we have the same goals, the same pain and understand that our business is only successful when we understand our clients and put their needs first.” Dedication to Education As the country emerged from the recession and the Dominion Group companies continued their expansion, Lewis and BeVier realized their experience leading up to, during and in the wake of the housing and financial crises and the subsequent Great Recession had even more value than they had previously realized. “Our focus on acquisitions, construction, leasing, property management and financing really helped us work with others in the industry,” Lewis said. “That is why in 2015, when Jack [BeVier] asked me to join an industry mastermind, I decided to take it on full force.” After very little time in the mastermind world, however, Lewis realized the industry needed a new type of mastermind for the next era in real estate. “I soon realized there was a need in our industry for a mastermind that did not glorify selling information, coaching or the next get-rich-quick scheme,” he said bluntly. “I wanted to be involved in a mastermind built on the principles of creating value for all that would only involve people focused on building long-term value in the real estate business.” Lewis ultimately created Real Investor Roundtable (RIR) to meet that need. “In our industry, you have traders and you have investors, with investors buying houses that they are going to either hold or sell to homeowners for a profit (ideally) and creating an infrastructure to enable that process and with traders providing information, usually to new or would-be investors, about how they might also create that sort of platform and enact that process,” Lewis said. “The problem is that the failure rate of people learning from those traders is extremely high, because they usually are primarily trading in information rather than having a primary focus in real estate.” The solution, Lewis determined, was to create RIR, a group that would enable active, successful real estate investors to exchange ideas and strategies in a way that would help grow, sustain and protect their real estate businesses for the long haul. “Real estate investors should be interacting with others in the industry,” he said. He said that they should be concerned about the right technologies, best practices, software and apps, personnel practices, tax strategies, and so on, rather than about whether they will be sold information or products that do not fit their business. “We do not promote the ‘guru culture’ that sells information, classes and products to individuals likely to fail and without the funds to lose even though that model is prevalent in the mastermind community,” Lewis said. “The goal is to have high-level, transparent conversation and sharing that is both impactful and real. That is where the name, Real Investor Roundtable, came from.” Because he firmly believes mastermind

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Q&A With Colonial Funding Group LLC & NoteSchool

Eddie Speed’s creative real estate strategies stand the test of time. Eddie Speed, founder of the educational company NoteSchool and owner and president of Colonial Funding Group LLC, has been a leader in the real estate-secured note business for nearly 40 years. Throughout those decades, he has become known for his take-no-prisoners honesty and relentless strategic creativity. He leverages both on behalf of students and investors who are focused on creating wealth and securing their financial future by creating or funding private mortgage notes. “The cornerstone of NoteSchool is using real estate to generate secure investment income, but with more cash flow and without having the headaches that come with some of the more ‘traditional’ strategies, like landlording,” Speed said. “It’s more than just creating private notes. Every transaction, I am crafting a deal, and I teach my students to do the same thing.” REI INK sat down with Speed to discuss how the note industry and note education has evolved since he got started in the early 1980s. Q: Today’s real estate market is extremely competitive. Are notes a good real estate strategy in this environment? A: We are dealing today with one of the most competitive real estate investing markets anyone has ever seen. As an investor, you are in the biggest knife fight in the world when you are trying to acquire properties at a discount. When you make a cash offer on a house, it’s you and a dozen other people at least. My colleagues who rely on the “buy low/sell high” model tell me that today they are only getting about one in every 25 offers they make accepted. Things are getting really tight. That competition makes this market perfect for investors who are able to structure creative financing for their deals. Imagine being able to say to your seller, “I’ll happily pay retail for that property. You just need to work with me on how to finance it.” Knowing that you can pay retail and make competitive offers in this market while still generating reliable, attractive returns on your investment is one of the best things about note investing and makes it one of the most effective real estate strategies in use today. Q: What are some examples of how this might work in the “real world” for real estate investors? A: There are probably more than 50 ways that you can buy a house and pay the seller back using creative note strategies. When I teach my three-day advanced classes on this topic, I break them all down on a huge whiteboard. Here are some examples: The seller carries the financing and you pay the loan back [in a lump sum] in the future. The seller carries the financing and you make recurring payments over time. You make a down payment to the seller; then the seller carries the remainder of the financing and you pay the seller back in the future. You take over the existing mortgage. And on, and on and on. The details on the deal will change depending on what you, the investor, need from the seller and what the seller needs from you. You are the deal architect. I find that once real estate investors really grasp the concept that they are in charge of the deal when they use note investing strategies, their note businesses really take off. Q: But what about building up equity? A: You know, I hear this question a lot from new note investors. They tell me that they are afraid to stop landlording because then they won’t have any equity to work with. When I hear that question, I stop and do a little math for them. Here is one of my favorite examples: Say you pay $80,000 for a 20-year note on which the borrower owes $100,000. That means you just bought 20 years of payments totaling $100,000 for a discount of 20%. That’s great! Two decades of income purchased at a fantastic discount. However, in this hypothetical situation, you need some investment capital today. To get that capital, you sell the first half of the note (the first 10 years of payments) to a passive investor for $79,500. They would receive the next 120 payments. Let’s say the payments are $825.00 per month, then that would be equal to $99,000. Now you have more investment capital to work with in the present, and in 10 years the payments on that note will start coming to you instead of the investor who just bought the first half of your note. You just generated $79,500 in investment capital and 10 years of passive income for an investment that cost you a net $500. That type of scenario is not just relatively simple to achieve over and over again, it is also commonplace in the note investing industry. You are generating long-term wealth and immediate capital at the same time, which is a win-win. Q: What are the most important lessons you have learned from your 30+ years in real estate? A: There are three things every real estate investor should know before they get started investing: You don’t have to just look at price as value. You can look at creative financing terms as equal in value to price. Don’t think that wholesaling will last forever. A lot of wholesalers (who tend to be new investors) get into real estate in order to escape their previous job and ultimately create a new job for themselves with wholesaling. You have to remember that wholesaling produces transactional income that cannot last forever. Real estate investors should be focused on building wealth, not just making money. Learn strategy from people who learned it and lived it themselves. When you invest in real estate education, invest with someone who understands what they are teaching from a personal standpoint. They should have experience in what they are telling you to do. I like to compare real estate education to professional football. There are a lot of

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Will The 2020s Be The Decade of Single-Family Rental?

The sector appears well-positioned to become an even more important option in the coming decade. As we enter a new decade, housing observers across the country are making predictions for what the next 10 years will bring. With structural factors like the shortage of affordable housing and high rental demand continuing to shape markets large and small, one sector that is poised to continue its momentum in the 2020s is single-family rental (SFR). Contrary to some misconceptions, SFR has been an ever-present part of the American housing economy, historically dominated by small investors who kept just a few additional properties as investments. In recent years, however, the single-family rental home industry has evolved into a credible, service-oriented real estate asset class. Investments made by industry companies have supported and energized communities across the country. Most important, SFR companies are committed to the individuals and families who depend on the industry for a home to call their own. No single factor is responsible for the industry’s recent growth. Rather, SFR represents the marriage of the right idea at the right time. Enabled by innovative new technology and the vision of the entrepreneurs who bet there was significant unmet demand for high-quality, professionally managed single-family rental homes, SFR has grown from a fledgling fraction of the housing market to an industry on the move. And with demand showing no signs of slowing, the sector is well-positioned to become an even more important option in housing markets across the country in the decade to come. A Renting Revolution While the misguided assumption persists that renters rent only because they can’t afford to be homeowners, more Americans today are renting for a variety of reasons. Among them are demographic shifts such as an aging population and young adults delaying major life decisions (e.g., marriage and having children). Some can’t easily get a mortgage. Others, particularly many baby boomers and millennials, enjoy the flexibility of not owning a home. That’s a major reason why the homeownership rate today is 64.1%, down from 69% in 2004. And, one in five Americans now say they don’t plan to buy a home in their lifetime. Many Americans are discovering that renting is an option that just makes sense. SFR’s rise did not happen in a vacuum. From streaming music services like Spotify to fashion offerings like Rent the Runway, American consumers are increasingly demanding the leasing lifestyle across economic sectors. As the millennial generation that prefers flexibility over stability ages and begins forming families, single-family rental has met a crucial need in the market. It offers more space and amenities than many apartments and at a more affordable price point than homeownership. A Tech-First Industry SFR has also benefited from new technology that has created efficiencies in professional property and portfolio management. This shift occurred in the multifamily rental industry decades before its introduction in the SFR industry for a simple reason. In an apartment building, a single property manager or staff person can manage an individual building with hundreds of units, or even a few buildings in the same neighborhood. It’s nearly impossible to do the same for a collection of homes spread out across an entire metropolitan area. But, SFR owner-operators have rebuilt systems from top to bottom, establishing what is essentially a mobile maintenance shop that can deploy a fleet of vans across an entire market using a digital inventory management system and route optimization software. From the moment a maintenance request comes in, it is slotted seamlessly into this network so it can be addressed quickly and efficiently. On the acquisitions side, SFR investors now have a treasure trove of data at their fingertips when evaluating a home for purchase. Rather than poring through public records or having to decide based on their gut instinct, today’s investor can look at a home listing and, with the click of a button, determine whether it will be a financially viable rental property. And once they make the decision to buy, SFR owner-operators can make an offer within hours of a home hitting the multiple listing service. Modernizing the Renter Experience Gone are the days of needing to put a check in the mail or tracking down a landlord living an hour and a half away to fix a broken pipe. From basics like paying rent and submitting maintenance requests online to futuristic perks like keyless entry and smart-home connectivity, SFR owner-operators are redefining what it means to be a renter. In doing so, they are making renting a more appealing option, one that more and more consumers are choosing over homeownership. Even if they eventually hope to own, SFR represents an important new housing option for Americans. And renting can help put working families on the path to homeownership until they are ready to make the choice to buy. The 2020s and Beyond Even though the SFR industry has seen significant evolution over the past few years, the sector still has plenty of room to innovate. Today, only 2% of all single-family rental homes are owned by professional SFR companies. With rental demand continuing to rise and four in five renters saying that renting is more affordable than owning, the industry is well-positioned to continue to thrive. With the housing market fully recovered and affordable housing stock in short supply, build-to-rent is one major trend to watch for in the coming decade, as many SFR operators have begun to build new units or partnered with homebuilders to do so. Thus, they can expand their portfolios and bring new housing units to the market, helping to alleviate shortages facing communities around the country. Don’t be surprised if, come 2030, the housing industry is looking back at the decade of single-family rental. n

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