Determinants of corporate investment in single-family rental housing in Charlotte, North Carolina

Since the financial crisis of the late 2000s, the Single-Family Housing (SFH) market has been under siege from large corporate investors. The ensuing reality has been a significant paradigm shift where individual homebuyers now compete with well-resourced corporations in SFH markets characterized by severe shortages. Experts speculate that this threatens one of the fundamental components of urban living: access to adequate and affordable housing. Despite calls to adequately understand the behaviour of these corporate investors for informed policy response, research has so far skipped the property and neighborhood factors that define corporate inclinations. Using a Generalized Linear Mixed Model, we identify key factors most associated with investor rental properties in Charlotte, North Carolina. Our findings suggest that corporate investors are inclined towards properties with lower upkeep costs, particularly those with slab foundations and average construction grades, balancing affordability with profitability. At the neighborhood level, investors demonstrate inclination for low-income, minority neighborhoods with low political participation probably because they offer fewer regulatory constraints. However, while investors may favor historically marginalized neighborhoods, they avoid extremely deprived ones, likely due to concerns about rental delinquency and marketability. Our findings have significant policy implications. Given Charlotte’s rapid growth and increasing demand for rental housing, institutional investors may exacerbate affordability challenges and contribute to displacement pressures. Understanding corporate investment patterns is crucial for crafting policies that balance investment incentives with housing stability. Future research should explore similar trends in other fast-growing cities and assess the broader socioeconomic impacts of corporate dominance in single-family housing markets.