The winter off-peak period may be the best time for investors to snag a deal on a single-family rental property.
Single-family rental investors paid 6.6 percent less per square foot on the same property during the winter of 2017/2018 than they did during the spring and summer buying season of 2017, according to a new analysis released by HomeUnion, an online real estate investment and management firm.
“For the second year in a row, our study found that the wintertime is the best season to acquire rental properties,” says Steve Hovland, director of research for HomeUnion. “Median home prices drop substantially during the colder months, while rent losses remain marginal for landlords.”
Investors are finding they can acquire higher-yielding properties in cold-weather markets like in Omaha, Neb.; Chicago; and Hartford, Conn., as well as more temperate areas such as Charlotte and the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, according to the analysis. Rental properties in HomeUnion’s top 10 metros are discounted between 20 percent and 32 percent in the winter months.
“Home prices are seasonal as many buyers and sellers delay an acquisition or disposition to avoid a move during a school year,” Hovland says. “As a result, smaller homes occupied by empty nesters or childless families are more likely to change hands.”
The following metro areas made HomeUnion’s list as best places to buy rental properties in the wintertime of 2018:
Source: HomeUnion
