Competition Heats Up in REO-to-Rent Space via Multifamily Executive Magazine

For years, the shadow market of single-family rentals has been a nagging nemesis of the apartment industry. It’s notoriously difficult to quantify, both in terms of sheer numbers and its impact on the multifamily market’s fundamentals, hence the name. It is to the apartment industry what unlicensed cabs are to the taxi industry.

But maybe there’s nothing to fear. According to Jeff Hayward, head of Washington, D.C.-based Fannie Mae’s multifamily division, there’s plenty enough demand to go around, and it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison anyhow.

“We see REO-to-rental initiatives as a complement to the multifamily market,” says Hayward. “A standalone house attracts a different type of renter; they tend to be older, may have a family, and therefore need more space. They may have even been through a foreclosure or short sale, so they may be accustomed to living in a single-family home.”

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