Atlanta Is A Top Market For Single-Family Rental Homes

During the recession, Wall Street investors started buying up foreclosed homes all over the country.

A popular spot was metro Atlanta, where more than 24,075 single-family homes are now rental properties.

The Atlanta area had the highest concentration of rental homes owned by five of the largest single-family-home companies in June, according to the real estate research firm.

DeAnn Golden, vice president of the Atlanta Realtor’s Association,  said metro Atlanta has proven to offer a good return for investors because there’s low inventory in the metro area and home values are rising.

Golden said her firm has worked with the single-family home rental companies that often represent wealthy investors in the United States.

“There’s also a strong influx of Chinese and multicultural buyers that are finding that the properties in America are very, very ideal,” she said.

Golden said the tight home sales market here right now is one reason investors are continuing to buy and then lease out single-family homes.

“We’re still in a trajectory of recovery,” she said. “Prices are still going up and particularly when you’re in a low inventory market someone coming in has a very high likelihood that their return on investment over the next few years will continue to be favorable.”

She said the low wages and salaries also make renting single-family homes more affordable than purchasing homes.

“If someone’s annual salary is around $40,000, we are going to be having a greater propensity of people that may be needing at this time to rent,” Golden said.  

Atlanta real estate attorney David Cheng said rental homes are a popular choice for older millennials who may still have student loan debt but are ready to start families.

“The companies that are buying up single-family homes and renting them out are just meeting consumer demand,” Cheng said. “Sometimes people do not want to live in a small apartment while raising kids, so demand is there to live a suburban lifestyle with a single-family home and they don’t have the cash or income to do it. Renting is the next best way.”