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A Huge Surge in Built-to-Rent Single-Family Homes is Underway

Built-to-Rent homes expected to more than double in 2022. Source RentCafe.

A surge in Built-to-Rent Homes Expected to Hit All-Time High in 2022.

Key Points

  • Described by some as “horizontal apartments,” communities of houses built for the sole purpose of renting are becoming the hottest topic in residential living. 
  • 6,740 new rental homes in built-to-rent communities were completed — the highest yearly total to date.
  • There are an estimated 14,000 built-to-rent homes under construction in the United States right now. That will more than double the 2021 total.
  • Currently, there are about 90,000 existing single-family homes in the United States in nearly 720 such communities designed specifically for renting. 
  • The occupancy rate is 97%.

What’s Going On?

  • According to Shannon Hersker with Walker & Dunlop: “There is a misconception that the majority of renters are Millennials when, in reality, you have everyone — including college students, empty nesters, families with kids, pet owners, and those wanting to downsize,” she said.
  • “Undoubtedly, coronavirus has also impacted upon this increased popularity,” said Christopher Michael, architect and founder of archisoup. “Many are now moving out of the cities and apartment living to seek out more space in rural and suburban locations.”

Top 20 Metro Areas

Texas Leads the Way

Texas and Arizona have five of the top twenty built-to-rent areas.  

The Phoenix area has 6,420 units. Phoenix is also a leading metro in new apartment construction, making it one of the top coveted areas for renters overall.

Texas and Arizona accounts for 17,020 of the existing 90,000 units. 

Top 20 Cities

Las Vegas is the top city but once again Texas and Arizona leads the way with nine cities in the top 20. 

Trend Makes Sense 

These trends make sense for many reasons.

  • Boomers fleeing high-tax states like Illinois.
  • People downsizing in general seeking warmer climates.
  • Homeowners of all sorts no longer want to deal with maintenance on yards, etc., but wanting community services and pools.
  • Newly married couples and others have had enough of big city crime, congestion, and small apartments.
  • Millennials want to remain mobile and/or cannot afford a down payment on a home.
  • Work-at-home is not going away. Those who lived in cities for ease of commute now have other options.

Compared to the overall housing market this is a very tiny subset yet one clearly in increasing demand. 

This article originally appeared on MishTalk.

Correction. I did not properly separate Texas and Arizona, now fixed.

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25 Comments
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Oldest Most Voted
Robert QSLV
Robert QSLV
4 years ago
Christoball
Christoball
4 years ago
300,000 homes a year are demolished due to dilapidation. This is a number that has to be considered in relation to housing starts and affects overall supply. Also it puts in perspective the small number of homes that are Single Family Built to Rent. Management costs are higher for single family rentals as opposed to complexes; and is why the number is so low.
lesbaer45
lesbaer45
4 years ago
I’m just here to say I don’t think the WFH thing is going to last. Sure maybe a year to 18 months after this round of variant passes over and maybe people get tired of hiding out from variant of the day.
I think those that are asked to come back to on site work will continue to increase as time passes and except for a few specific job types “remote work” will return to the office. I’ve seen this in the past well before the Covid scare, it was a “thing” years ago. It didn’t last as the micro managers won’t tolerate it.
If a recession deep enough hits, it’ll end quicker. I just don’t see it being a permanent thing at the current scale/level. Then it get’s interesting seeing what happens to all those ‘home’s bought out in the sticks as people fled the urban areas. There won’t be jobs for them as there weren’t any before C19. 
The “I’ll quit and work for some other company” won’t work if no one is hiring and everyone is laying off. 
Either way, interesting times ahead. Prepare accordingly.
RonJ
RonJ
4 years ago
“A Huge Surge in Built-to-Rent Single-Family Homes is Underway”
Klaus Schwab: you will own nothing and be happy.
Ron Cataldi
Ron Cataldi
4 years ago
Ugly trend. Continued strip mining of the US middle & lower classes.
Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
14,000 home being built to rent by large companies is not much compared to the over 1,800,000 homes being built every year now so I am not overall worried. 
RonJ
RonJ
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug78
Big trees grow from small acorns. Apple once worked out of a garage. In California the government is looking to partner with new home home buyers that otherwise can’t afford to buy a house. Where have we heard something similar before? What is the state going to do if the home buyers can’t afford the house anymore? Will California take over the property and become landlord?
Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  RonJ
Land to build on is everywhere except on the beach and certain parts of CA. There is no way the large renting companies can keep homes being bult. If rents are too high people move. 
Mish
Mish
4 years ago
Good grief.
No idea what I was thinking other than I was in a hurry and had to be somewhere.
Texas and Arizona now fixed.
vanderlyn
vanderlyn
4 years ago
Reply to  Mish
no biggie.  you do a great job.   keep it up.  one of my favorite places to find wisdom.   a rare quality.  
pimaCanyon
pimaCanyon
4 years ago
“You will own nothing and you will be happy.”–Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum
What he actually meant to say:  “You will own nothing and I will be happy.”–Klaus Schwab
hhabana
hhabana
4 years ago
Reply to  pimaCanyon
Well said, my friend. I’m a landlord. I like my tenants, and definately love their money. 
I think this is terrible. Blackstone and other investment hedge funds buying up housing and renting at exorbitant rates. The main crime is that they are taking available housing stock. This is a monopoly. Where are the big Democrats for the little guy? No where. They’re counting the money that these investment entities are distributing to them. Don’t think that I endorse the Republicans either. They are all in on it. 
This is where the pendulum swings to communism from capitalism. People get fed up with the corruption and get restless. Who could blame them? We are on a big decline in this country and it’s going faster and faster. 
whirlaway
whirlaway
4 years ago
Reply to  hhabana
“Where are the big Democrats for the little guy?”

This is not your grandfather’s Democratic Party.   This is not even your father’s Democratic Party.  This is the DONORcrat Party of BJ Clinton, HR Clinton, Oscama, Biden and their ilk.

RonJ
RonJ
4 years ago
Reply to  whirlaway
Even Bernie owns 3 homes.
StukiMoi
StukiMoi
4 years ago
Reply to  hhabana
“The main crime is that they are taking available housing stock. “
That is no more crime; than Blackstone executives wearing socks, somehow implying they are taking available sock stock.
Instead, the crime is that anyone, anywhere; for any drummed up arbitrary reason; are faced with any more restrictions on building more covered space, than they are on knitting more socks. That is 100%, full stop, the problem.
As well as the crime: Against freedom. Against humanity. Against even basic economic (and otherwise) literacy. And against anything else. As well as a crime which has killed orders of magnitude more people than all the supposedly scary genocidal dictators throughout history combined managed to do. And continue to do so. Every single day.
And all that, just so that incompetent, stupid, illiterate, useless, trashy lowlife dilettantes and self promoting rank idiots; too dumb and worthless to be able to make a living doing anything at all productive; can instead preen around pretending to be some sort of worth-vile lifeform. While living high off of nothing more than trivially obvious usury. And pure, rank theft.
KidHorn
KidHorn
4 years ago
Reply to  hhabana
It’s also people owning multiple homes. I know lots of people who own rental properties in addition to their primary residence.
I’ve thought about buying a rental property. The reason I don’t is because my parents were landlords growing up and it seemed like a lot of work and headache. Plus tenants can decide not to pay rent and it can take a year or longer to evict them.
ohno
ohno
4 years ago
My house was built to steal by the county courthouse it seems.
vanderlyn
vanderlyn
4 years ago
another affect of trillions of free money by trump and biden after plague hit us,   handed out like candy at halloween. might be a surge but drop in bucket of homes.  i’ve owned 1 to 5 family homes(some originally mansions chopped up in to beach rentals………..for decades in few states.    it’s time to cash in again,  and wait for another plunge.    do it again in 5 years.   again.     this smells like a top.   btw,  the great metros of phoenix and tucson are in AZ territory.   
1-shot
1-shot
4 years ago
No different than multifamily really. Just add a patch of grass and no common walls. There will always be renters.  The market’s just discovered a new niche.
Maximus_Minimus
Maximus_Minimus
4 years ago
It wouldn’t have anything to do with real estate the only asset promissing any returns?
And still the cretins close their eyes and see nothing.
dbannist
dbannist
4 years ago

Meh, 13,000 new homes hardly constitutes anything significant in the grand scheme of things.This isn’t going to change anyone’s investing habits methinks.

rojogrande
rojogrande
4 years ago
Phoenix and Tucson are in Arizona.
klausmkl
klausmkl
4 years ago
The propaganda never ends. Dont be foolish, folks want to buy and own but can not, want to know why? Money of course. Most folks have nothing. In Idaho now a 1200 sq foot home is 500k. They are selling too. Go figure
whirlaway
whirlaway
4 years ago
Reply to  klausmkl
Exactly.   This certainly does NOT call for a celebration!
Reminded me of what GW Bush told a woman who said she had to slog at 3 jobs :   “You work three jobs? Uniquely American, isn’t it? I mean, that is fantastic that you’re doing that.”
ColoradoAccountant
ColoradoAccountant
4 years ago
Reply to  klausmkl
I have a daughter in McCall, ID.  She says it is Californians, via California, Oregon, or Washington moving in

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