Two-and-a-half years into the U.S. housing recovery, the real-estate industry is rolling out new ways for individuals to invest in the property market.
Brokers, property managers and others are helping buyers purchase houses in distant cities and manage them as rentals for a fee. Publicly traded trusts that collect rental income are selling shares to investors. And crowdfunding startups are matching buyers with willing lenders.
The latest pitches generally aim to eliminate the day-to-day headaches of being a landlord, and the potential payoff can make the concept worth considering. Investors can buy in for the price of a single-family home or a single share of stock.
But the plunge in U.S. home prices in the financial crisis should be a fresh reminder that bets on housing can sour in a hurry.
The latest deals often don’t depend on home values going up, which sets them apart from the house-flipping strategies that cost many home buyers dearly when the market collapsed. Yet investors could still face losses if, for example, the economy weakens and renters can’t keep up with their payments.
via New Ways to Profit From Renting Out Single-Family Homes – WSJ.