A recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that institutional investors owned 450,000 single-family rental homes in the United States as of 2022. However, a contrasting study by the Urban Institute estimated that large institutional investors held 574,000 single-family homes as of June 2022. The Urban Institute's report included data from 32 institutional investors and aggregated information on all legal entities under parent companies. This approach likely accounts for the discrepancy between their figures and those of the GAO.
The Urban Institute's methodology involved considering large investors who own at least 100 single-family homes and sourcing data from a national property records database. They believe their estimate is more accurate due to including all legal entities associated with parent companies.
An example illustrating the impact of such ownership is seen in metro Atlanta. In this region, nearly 11% of the single-family rental market—over 19,000 homes—are owned by Invitation Homes, Pretium Partners, and Amherst Holdings. According to Georgia State University professor Taylor Shelton and Rutgers professor Eric Seymour, these companies use an "extensive network of more than 190 corporate aliases registered to 74 different addresses across ten states and one territory." Shelton and Seymour argue that anonymizing ownership could shield these companies from legal liability or tenant accountability. Additionally, it may influence potential renters' decisions if they believe they are renting from smaller-scale landlords rather than large institutional investors.
"By anonymizing themselves it could protect them from legal liability or tenant accountability," said Shelton and Seymour. They also noted that this practice might affect renters' perceptions: "One could also argue that it may sway people’s decision to rent a home from them if they assume they are renting from a small scale company as opposed to a mega investor."
