CONTINUED FROM 1
Living Lakeside Data from the Montgomery Central Appraisal District shows institutional investors have targeted the Montgomery ZIP code 77356, which contains Lake Conroe’s west shore. NUMBER OF HOMES OWNED:
“These are not mom and pop buy- ers,” said Nadia Evangelou, the direc- tor of forecasting at the National Association of Realtors. “They look to buy properties and communities on a large scale and make pro t from them.” Texas leads the nation in institu- tional buying with 28% of single-fam- ily homes purchased by institutional investors in 2021—more than double the national average of 13%, accord- ing to data from the NAR. Locally, NAR data showed 29% of single-fam- ily properties purchased in Montgom- ery County in 2021 were bought by institutional buyers. Montgomery Central Appraisal District data shows 350 homes in the eight ZIP codes that make up the Con- roe and Montgomery area are owned by six institutional buyers and subsid- iaries veri ed through the Securities and Exchange Commission: American Homes 4 Rent, Progress Residential, FirstKey Homes, Yamasa, Invitation Homes and Tricon Residential. Realtor Abbie Holland of Holland Homes in the Conroe-Montgom- ery-Willis area pointed to factors such as inventory issues and rising interest rates that “restricted” buying choices, forcing people to rent homes often owned by investors. “It’s hard to build right now with prices as high as they are, which means you’re going to see your sin- gle-family active listings moving [o the market] quickly,” she said. However, David Howard, executive director of the National Rental Home Council—a nonpro t that represents the single-family rental home industry— cited member-provided data to show 1.3% of single-family homes nationwide are owned by large companies. Howard highlighted the rise of build-to-rent communities with 26% of homes in NRHC company portfo- lios representing the category as of the fourth quarter of 2021 versus 3% in 2019. The development rm Wan Bridge, which builds rental communities throughout Texas, unveiled the Montgomery waterfront rental devel- opment Lakeside Conroe in Septem- ber. Wan Bridge CEO Ting Qiao said in an email that the company wanted to o er more options to people looking for higher standards of rent. “Back [in 2016], I knew build-to- rent was the future,” he said. “Unlike apartment renters who had options
149
1097
WILLIS
MONTGOMERY
3081
LAKE CONROE
1484
75
American Homes 4 Rent FirstKey Homes
Progress Residential
31
59
105
2854
336
29
86
Yamasa
CONROE
Invitation Homes
Tricon Residential
93
52
149
1488
242
45
N
Total: 78
Total: 69
70 80 60
Total: 64
Six major national investment rms maintain a presence in the Conroe and Montgomery area with FirstKey Homes and Tricon Residential having the largest shares. Institutional investment
Total: 38
50
Total: 29
Total: 27
40
Total: 24
Total: 21
30
20
10
SOURCES: KINDER INSTITUTE FOR URBAN RESEARCH AT RICE UNIVERSITY, MONTGOMERY CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
0
77301
77302 77303
77304 77306
77316 77318 77356
CONROE
WILLIS
MONTGOMERY
a sudden in 2022, you’re over 6%; you’ve doubled your interest rates, and you no longer qualify for the home you wanted to buy.” Data from the Multiple Listing Ser- vice, which shows real estate listings, found the average amount of days a single-family property spent on the market as of June was under 30 days for both Conroe and Montgomery. Steve Sherman, a researcher with the think tank Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, said advances in algorithms allow investors to identify target properties as soon as they hit the market. “[Investment rms] look for a home that will gain value over time, even if they’re renting it out,” he said. “[These rms] can hold on to prop- erties for a while, even when they’re vacant, because they’re thinking on a
from luxury apartments to more a ordable options, home renters had very few choices. I wanted to o er people a new lifestyle in both product and service.” Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent did not respond to a request for comment, and FirstKey Homes referred Community Impact Newspaper to the NRHC for comment. First-time buyer options Holland said market trends in the Conroe and Montgomery area, such as rising interest rates, uctuating rents and fast home sales, made the area a target for institutional buyers. “What you have to understand is that [mortgage rates] were under 3%. ... If you have a good credit score, you’re at 2.75%-3% interest in 2019- 20,” Holland said. “And then all of
massive scale.” The ZIP code 77356, which cov- ers Lake Conroe’s west shore, has 78 homes owned by the six investment rms—the most among Conroe and Montgomery ZIP codes. Qiao said Lakeside Conroe, which o ers 169 single-family rentals, also began in the area because of the amenities near Lake Conroe. “This is a great location for residents and families beginning the next chap- ter of their lives—whether that means a second vacation home, retirement, starting a family or just wanting to live the lake life while working remotely,” Qiao said. In addition to Lake Conroe, certain parts of the Conroe area have seen a ordable housing targeted with the south Conroe ZIP codes 77304 and 77301 having the second- and
28
COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook