Cash investor v. the first time homebuyer...when will it become equal?
It all depends.
Invitation Homes owns over 80,000 homes in the US
By 2017, two major players, Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent, controlled nearly 60% of the rsingle family ental housing market. As of 2018, Invitation Homes (majority controlled by the Blackstone Group - investment group) appears to be the largest single-family rental housing owner. after recent mergers (Invitation Homes Inc. and Starwood Waypoint Homes completed their $11 billion merger, creating the largest single-family rental landlord in the U.S.) with 82,000 properties. Its next largest competitor American Homes 4 Rent (As of December 31, 2020, the company) owned 53,584, homes. American Homes 4 Rent is a real estate investment trust based in Calabasas, California that invests in single-family rental homes. Cerberus created FirstKey Homes (owns more than 20,000 homes); and GI Partners owns over 15,000 multifamily & single family residential real estate units. Update: 8-29-2021 - Home Partners owns 17,000 homes nationwide.
On calls with investors, those two companies touted their cost-cutting measures, which often involved pushing responsibilities onto tenants. In 2016, Jack Corrigan, the chief operating officer of American Homes 4 Rent, told investors that the company hoped to reduce spending on repairs, maintenance, and “turn costs”
Interesting side notes: NMHC 50 Largest Apartment Owners own approximately 2.3 million housing units and most are hedge funds.
Sources: Various internet searches, including but not limited to:
https://www.gipartners.com/real-estate/demographically-advantaged
https://www.housingwire.com/articles/40970-invitation-homes-starwood-waypoint-homes-to-merge-create-nations-largest-single-family-landlord/
http://americanhomes2020rd.q4web.com/press-releases/news-details/2021/American-Homes-4-Rent-to-Build-279-Home-Pine-Grove-Community-in-St.-Cloud-Florida/default.aspx
Redfin Now in 22 states - all cash offers
Update 5-31-2021: Fast-cash house flippers flood poor neighborhoods in U.S.
update: Blackstone to buy Home Partners of America in $6 bln deal (17,000 homes)
7-29-2021: Real estate giant snaps up dozens of local properties within months
8-7-221: Why do companies want to buy your house?
