Single Family Rental Homes Challenges Housing Market; Opines TenantScreeningUSA.com
As the single family rental market continues to tighten there may be new challenges against Fair Housing, according to a recent study at the Georgia State University. Adam Almeida, President and CEO of TenantScreeningUSA.com opines: "The single family rental market is tightening just as the apartment market has, and this has links to the recent foreclosure crisis as well as heightening implications of Fair Housing."
WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The single family rental market is just as tight as apartment rentals, and there may be direct correlation to the foreclosure crisis, according to a recent Georgia State University Study. Adam Almeida, President and CEO of TenantScreeningUSA.com states: "The implications of the rental housing crisis are clear and as landlords have the luxury of picking candidates they must maintain compliance with law and should work with a third-party tenant screening agency."
In July of 2018 Georgia State University released a study on Single Family rental homes and the subsequent affect on the housing market.
From Georgia State University, news.gsu.edu (Jul 26, 18):
In the wake of the U.S. foreclosure crisis, there has been a large increase – on the order of 50 percent – in single-family rental homes, or SFRs, across the country. As millions of families lost their homes to foreclosure, many of those homes were eventually purchased by investors – small and large– who converted those homes into rentals. At the same time, many families were compelled to rent their homes due to a foreclosure on their credit record or due to the tightening of mortgage markets. (1)
Single Family rentals have increased to the point that in some areas these rentals have created challenges to those individuals that actually want to own an entry level home.
From the Star Tribune out of Minneapolis, MN. (Jul 14, 18):
By the end of May, nearly 20 percent of all single-family houses in Minneapolis and St. Paul were occupied by someone other than the owner, according to a Star Tribune analysis of Hennepin and Ramsey county property records. That figure has doubled in the past decade.
The trend has helped drive down the number of entry-level house listings in the Twin Cities. About three-quarters of the non-owner occupied houses in Minneapolis are valued at less than $250,000, and almost 90 percent are in St. Paul. (2)
The trend in Minneapolis validates in part the findings of the GSU study.
From Star Tribune (Jul 14, 18):
The situation is in large part a byproduct of the housing crash and subsequent recession. In 2005, only 10 percent of all houses in Minneapolis weren't owner occupied, but when house prices collapsed and thousands of properties went into foreclosure, investors swooped in and bought them at big discounts. (3)
Almeida states: "With more single family homes appearing on the rental market the challenges are very real, both in availability and with rental policy."
From the GSU study:
Additional fair housing questions concern the advertising and screening practices of SFR landlords, including the practices of some institutional investors. For example, are owners marketing properties in low-poverty and predominantly white neighborhoods broadly? Do they accept Housing Choice Vouchers from tenants? These and other issues have become more important as the SFR sector now constitutes a larger portion of the rental landscape, particularly in many communities that had not been accustomed to substantial amounts of rental housing. (4)
Almeida concludes: "This recent study highlights an immediate and urgent need for landlords of apartments and SFD units to work with a well-qualified third-party tenant screening agency in order to remain fully compliant with law."
TenantScreeningUSA.com is a third-party tenant screening company with a highly trained and experienced staff fully versed in the laws that govern tenant screening on a state and federal level. Utilizing the most current data, TenantScreeningUSA.com can provide landlords and property manager's information necessary to make a knowledgeable and compliant decision regarding perspective tenants.
Notes:
(1) news.gsu.edu/2018/07/26/single-family-rental-homes-growth-has-implications-for-fair-housing/
(2) startribune.com/no-houses-available-to-buy-in-twin-cities-blame-rentals/488198371/
(3) ibid
(4) news.gsu.edu/2018/07/26/single-family-rental-homes-growth-has-implications-for-fair-housing/
SOURCE TenantScreeningUSA.com
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