Jon's Reading List - Week of September 24, 2021

A collection of interesting stuff I've read over the last couple of weeks:

Apartment Industry/Rental Housing

The Profile of a SFR Renter (GlobeSt.com September 21, 2021)
Single-family renters are an increasingly large segment of the renter population. Nolan estimates that one-third of all renters live in single-family homes. “This is a big covert, and I think it is only going to become more popular post-COVID,” she says.
While demand is significant and growing, the market is severely undersupplied. “We are still extremely undersupplied. The build-to-rent product as a sector is averaging 95% occupancy, and that has been pretty stable for a long time,” says Nolan. “Even with the addition of new units, the occupancy hasn’t suffered.”

Real Estate

Real Estate Agents Gear Up for Fight to Save Their Commissions (Wall Street Journal, September 20, 2021)
The Justice Department is investigating home sale commissions, and in a wide-ranging executive order President Biden asked the Federal Trade Commission to adopt rules to address unfair or exclusionary practices in the real-estate industry.
Several civil lawsuits challenging industry rules and practices around commissions have survived initial procedural challenges and drawn support from the Justice Department, putting added pressure on traditional broker fees.