Chad Carpenter, chairman and CEO of Reven Housing REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVEN), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITweek: 2018 Investor Conference in New York.
Since launching in 2012, the single-family home REIT has expanded into six states—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. Reven concentrates on what Carpenter describes as “workforce housing,” a segment that he said has seen consistent rent growth and home price appreciation. Reven plans to expand in existing markets and will continue to look at entering additional markets in the Southeast.
Carpenter noted that competition from private investors has started to enter the market, however, “the market’s so big we haven’t really bumped into them.”
Looking ahead, Carpenter said the sector is likely to continue to grow in the next five years.
Public companies will continue to raise capital, aggregate homes and build larger portfolios, Carpenter said. New entrants will also emerge via initial public offerings (IPOs), he added.
“There are 16 million rented homes and institutional owners only hold 1.5 percent, so there’s a huge opportunity to expand in this asset class,” Carpenter said.