Residential Brokers & Property Managers NAICS 531311, 531210

Oct 20, 2025 - Accidental Landlords Create New Competition

• Corporate lessors of single-family homes face mounting pressure from “accidental landlords” renting out their homes when they're unable to sell, according to The Wall Street Journal. The dynamic is depressing rent growth, with top U.S. markets projected to rise just 0.8% this year, the slowest pace since 2011, according to John Burns Research & Consulting. Oversupply in some Sunbelt markets, where institutional portfolios are heavily concentrated, is driving down rents for new leases. Companies like Invitation Homes are offsetting losses by raising rents for existing tenants, but widening rent gaps may increase turnover. With nearly two million unsold homes on the market, and 2.3% of listings shifting to rentals, inventory seeping from sales to rentals is reshaping the rental landscape. Despite strong occupancy and retention, corporate landlords are underperforming the broader market, signaling challenges ahead in a housing environment marked by stalled transaction activity.
• Sales of existing US homes decreased by 0.2% in August from July but were up 1.8% year-over-year, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said, "Home sales have been sluggish over the past few years due to elevated mortgage rates and limited inventory. However, mortgage rates are declining and more inventory is coming to the market, which should boost sales in the coming months."

• RealPage, a software firm serving 24 million rental units globally, is pushing back against mounting legal and regulatory scrutiny over its AI Revenue Management platform, according to Bisnow. Accused by the US Department of Justice and 10 state attorneys general of enabling rent collusion among landlords, RealPage faces a federal antitrust suit and over 30 consolidated civil cases. Some local governments have imposed ordinances banning algorithmic rent-setting, prompting RealPage to adjust its tools and challenge some laws in court. The company denies facilitating price-fixing, arguing its software merely offers rent suggestions. Despite settlements with major landlords and growing legislative pressure, no court has ruled definitively on the merits of the claims. RealPage maintains that its platform is lawful and beneficial, signaling readiness to litigate and defend its practices amid a patchwork of mounting regulations.
• Renters were the sole driver of the rise in household formations in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Census Bureau’s most recent Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). In Q2 2025, the total number of US households increased to 132.5 million, up by 1.2 million compared to 131.3 million in the second quarter of 2024. The increase in new households was entirely driven by renters, amid the lowest homeownership rate since 2019. US homeownership fell to 65% of total households in Q2 2025 and was 4.2 percentage points below the 25-year average of 66.3%. High home prices, elevated mortgage rates, and low inventories have pushed housing affordability to the lowest level in decades.