Operators of Dwellings Other Than Apartment Buildings

This segment of the real estate industry is relatively small and primarily populated by individual owners of rental properties (generally houses). Large chains or companies are typically limited to regional influence. As an established, albeit minor, element of the larger real estate industry in the United States, establishments involved in this industry are influenced by the same economic and social factors that impact the largest real estate property management firms.

According to the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC), in 2010 about 31 percent of Americans rented housing. Approximately 38.9 million of these people lived in single-housing rentals; another 18.4 million lived in structures with two to four units. Overall, New York City had the highest percentage of housing units occupied by renters, with 66 percent, followed by Boston with 63 percent, San Francisco with 62 percent, and Los Angeles with 61 percent.

As the U.S. economy surged, beginning in 1992 and continuing into the new millennium, rental properties in general became more appealing to small investors, both companies and individuals. Individual investors began to put more capital into investment properties even though federal tax changes in the late 1980s had limited deductions on investment property. Many of these individuals sought small properties in which to invest so that mortgages would be manageable or not necessary.

However, the economic downturn of the early 2000s, exacerbated by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, sent the economy into a tailspin. To bolster consumer spending, the Federal Reserve reduced interest rates to historic lows, which, in turn, fueled the home buying market. Property values rose substantially as many Americans hurried to purchase or refinance while the rates were low. With the number of homeowners rising, the number of people seeking rental property declined proportionally, leaving the residential rental market with a lack of demand and a supply surplus. By 2005 it was a renters' market, with property managers sometimes offering rent rates below their property mortgage payment to attract renters.

In the late 2000s the housing bubble burst, but the accompanying economic recession dampened the market for rental units. By 2009, the national rental vacancy rate was up to a record 10.6 percent, according to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. However, the Harvard study also predicated that the total number of renters would rise by between 3.8 million and 5 million between 2010 and 2020, with minority households comprising the majority of renters by the third decade of the twenty-first century.

The residential rental market was highly diversified in the early 2010s with many properties owned and managed by single investors and partnerships. According to Dun & Bradstreet, 4,885 establishments engaged in the operation of dwellings other than apartment buildings in 2010. Together they establishments employed 22,593 people and generated almost $1.7 billion in annual revenues. The largest number of operators of residential buildings other than apartments were located in California, with 508, followed by New York with 399, Florida with 341, and Texas with 304. Alaska was the number-one state in terms of revenue, with $179.8 million, followed by California and Ohio, each with $155.4 million; New York with $144.4 million; and Missouri with $94.3 million.