Not so long ago, in a galaxy not so far away, corporations thought they hit the jackpot. Not so long ago was 2021, and the galaxy in question was the United States of America.
Institutions discovered a niche market that produced reliable, incredibly high yields. The market was real estate — single-family homes to be exact. They got a small taste early in 2020, taking advantage of some of the consequences families faced in the early stages of the pandemic. Institutions entered the rental market, which was typically reserved for mom-and-pop shops. Then, in 2021, they spent a whopping $2.5 billion in single-family rental (SFR) acquisitions.
