Housing affordability continues to be a challenge across the country in rural and urban America. At the same time, many families want the comfort, space, and community amenities that living in a single-family home offer. At a time when the costs of owning a home (maintenance, insurance, taxes) are increasingly out of reach for many Americans, single-family rentals provide families with a viable housing option and professional housing providers are part of the solution: they help Americans get into high-quality, move-in ready homes and they are building new housing across the country.
Families want to rent single-family homes.
In an economy where it is currently less expensive to rent than it is to buy, many families are choosing to rent single family homes. Families with children who rent aren’t looking for an apartment—they want a yard, a garage, and access to good schools, even if buying isn’t possible yet.
Single-family rentals give people flexibility. In many of the markets where single-family rental is popular, homeownership costs exceed rental costs by about 40% – nearly $10,000 per year. Single-family-rentals work for families relocating for jobs, saving for a downpayment, or just not ready to buy. Professional management can be a plus for renters. Tenants know who to call, how to submit a repair request, and what the lease says. That consistency matters, especially for families.
Investors repair and maintain homes.
Many houses that have been acquired by professional housing providers were outdated or distressed. These companies routinely invest significant capital into their homes to make repairs and upgrades, and complete long-term maintenance. In fact, in 2024, professional housing providers invested $2 billion in home renovations, upgrades, and other property-level operations while employing more than 8,000 local businesses and contractors in markets across the country. These investments also help increase the property values of surrounding homes, adding equity.
Scale of Ownership
There are approximately 50 million rental units, of all types, in the country. Mom-and-pop landlords and small investors own and operate more than 90% of these units, while professionalized housing providers own 450,000…less than 1%. This is a limited footprint, not market domination.
While large housing providers played a critical role stabilizing the single-family housing market during the Great Recession, today they represent an extremely small portion of housing inventory nationwide. Over the past decade, including during the pandemic, owner-occupants and smaller investors continue to dominate home purchases across the country.
Limiting investor participation does not increase supply and limiting investors could impact affordability.
Limiting investor participation does nothing to solve the underlying problem of housing affordability. The high cost of buying home is due to limited supply – and limiting investors will not increase the number of homes on the market.
Single family rental investors are increasing housing supply by creating new rentals. Approximately 40,000 build-to-rent units have come online each year for the past two years, with over 100,000 more in the pipeline. Housing affordability has improved in those areas of the country where new housing units have come online in recent years.