CREJ

Page 12 — Multifamily Properties Quarterly — May 2022 www.crej.com Market Trends ARCHITECTURE BRANDING INTERIORS PLANNING ktgy.com 4552 SOUTH ULSTER Denver, CO | Legacy Partners T he build-to-rent home craze is picking up speed across the country, led by the Southwest. Some of the largest single- family rental communities can be found in this region, with Phoenix one of the largest players in the game, but Colorado is not far behind. Just recently, two build-to-rent communities were announced in Colorado Springs, two outside of Boulder and five for Denver, giv- ing the Centennial State a strong pipeline of more than 3,000 units of single-family rental under develop- ment, according to various news reports. These single-family rental homes are constructed as rental properties, often in communities with great shared amenities. The segment is expected to keep growing nationwide. According to rentcafe.com and data from its sister company Yardi Matrix, nearly 14,000 units will open their doors to renters this year across the country. While still a small segment com- pared to traditional multifamily (330,000 units were delivered in 2021, marking a record year for new apartments), SFR is growing, fueled by trends in how we’re living due to the pandemic, headwinds and supply issues for first-time home- buyers, and other lifestyle choices. As one of the top developers and managers of multifamily communi- ties in the country, our company founded our Storia division in 2020, dedicated to building SFR across the country. We earmarked $800 million for this strategy. Since then, this seg- ment has grown to become more than 15% of our whole portfolio, which is 77,000 units under manage- ment and $5.6 billion in total capi- talization. In the SFR category, we’ve been awarded 68 projects representing 8,959 homes in communities across the country (for projects both under management or under development by our team). We now manage 29 communities, representing 4,234 homes. Our total SFR portfolio is 97 projects, representing 13,193 built- to-rent homes. We hired Chase Davidson to help us lead this division, and with the insights of Ashley Casaday, who leads our capital markets division, we remain bullish on this sector. We’re seeing more companies rais- ing capital for SFR and creating property tech solutions to help man- age these properties. The appeal of single-family rental homes is broad. They give people more space during the pandemic and work-from-home-era, but com- bine the convenience of a profes- sionally managed property with amenities like dog parks, pools and grilling stations. Some even sport their own yards or private areas for people with kids and pets. And it’s not just younger or older generations that are flocking to sin- gle-family rental homes and com- munities – we see that it’s a great fit for new families, combined families, empty nesters and people who want to try out an area before they buy. One thing many SFR communi- ties have in common is the need for more space, which means the majority of them, or about 61%, are located in suburbs. In March, we announced one of our most scenic SFR projects, in Longmont, outside Boulder near the regional LoBo trail. “Our team is very intentional about where we locate our Storia communities,” said Steven Shores, RangeWater’s president and CEO. Build-to-rent fever picking up speed in Colorado Karen Key Managing director, Single- Family Rentals, RangeWater Real Estate Lupine will feature 200 townhomes and 36 duplexes ranging from 788 to 1,423 square feet. Some homes will feature front yards, and community amenities will include a pool and pocket parks. Please see Key, Page 30 Nearly 2,400 build-to-rent units have been announced in the Denver area: • The Front Porch by Oakwood Homes in Denver – 93 units • Avilla Homes – NexMetro in Brighton, Commerce City and Thornton – 500 units • Brookfield Central Park by Brookfield Residential in Denver – 500 units • Canvas at Castle Rock by Watermark Equity Group – 102 townhomes • Denver 60 by Pauls Corp. in Denver – 1,200 units Close up look at the Denver area’s build-to-rent market