When Joan Lazit searched for a new home in Mesa in 2022, she didn’t want an apartment because of the noise. However, owning a home was expensive and difficult for her at the age of 87. Instead, she chose a middle-ground solution: renting a newly built home designed specifically for rent rather than for sale.
Lazit said she felt as if she owned a private home without the hassles of ownership. Currently, around 7% of newly built homes in the United States are designated for rent instead of sale, representing a significant increase compared with the previous decade.
Housing companies such as NexMetro Communities are building these homes in regions like the Sun Belt, where population density is rising, and land is more available. Other states, such as Ohio and Utah, are also experiencing a similar boom.
Since 2009, Josh Hartman, the CEO of NexMetro, has focused on building rental homes in response to the needs of people who lost the ability to buy homes after the financial crisis. Today, most tenants are young professionals with pets or older adults who prefer to avoid the cost and effort of maintaining a home they own.
