Single-Family REITs and Local Housing Markets
65 Pages Posted: 18 Jul 2024 Last revised: 4 Feb 2025
Date Written: February 04, 2025
Abstract
Institutional investors in single-family housing markets are often represented as worsening household well-being. We document the growth of single-family REITs (SFRs) and their (non-)effects on housing markets by constructing a novel dataset of SFRs’ underlying properties. SFRs purchase properties in neighborhoods encircling city centers, where housing supply is more elastic and with populations facing homeownership barriers. Using a spatial differences empirical strategy, SFR growth relates to increased housing supply, lower mortgage approval rates, and modest price increases. These findings likely capture SFRs’ selection of
neighborhoods rather than causal effects. SFR asset returns mirror representative housing portfolios despite their concentrated holdings.
Keywords: REITS, Institutional Investor, Housing Market
JEL Classification: R3, G23
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Giacoletti, Marco and Heimer, Rawley and Li, Wenli and Yu, Edison G., Single-Family REITs and Local Housing Markets (February 04, 2025). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4895275 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4895275
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