We tend to become more cautious when a theme grips the market. Residential rental property is the hottest theme these days. Even the great Warren Buffett is bullish on rentals, declaring that he would buy a couple hundred thousand single-family homes and rent them, if only he had a way to manage them.

Another prominent supporter of rentals, Lewis Ranieri, the co-inventor of the mortgage-backed security, lays out the case in a research paper for using federal entities to support converting foreclosed properties into rentals. According to Ranieri, his foreclosure-to-rental model can be developed in “most every market in the United States,” and thus help clear the distressed-housing overhang.

We see a few unintended consequences, though. When markets don't develop organically, there tends to be inefficiency – you get too much or too little of something. Just look at housing six years. The market was incentivized for more home ownership, and we got too much of it.

Single-family rental properties are fine, to be sure, but large swaths of single-family rentals might not be. Rents are rising, but they don't always rise. Rents impacted capitalization rates. If rents drop, so will capitalization rates and property values. In addition, renters don't care for properties as well as owners. Could a higher percentage of neglected properties translate into more downward price pressure for owners?

All we're saying is that before we ask for something we need to be sure we really want it; unintended consequences can be very costly in the long run.

Courtesy of Jessica Regan.

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