US INVESTMENTS
Investing
Climb Aboard the
Bandwagon
While You Still Can …
BY RJ PALANO
America’ s positive economic performance— relative to many parts of Europe, Japan, Turkey and even South Africa— has resulted in a dramatic influx of global investors. Are you among them? If not, I would suggest you run as fast as you can and jump onto that speeding bandwagon.
Conditions are ripe and getting better for high returns for investors of both single-family and multifamily rental properties in the U. S., as the economy continues to recover from one of the worst housing crises ever. From analysts and policymakers to industry leaders and real estate specialists, the consensus is a positive outlook for the American economy and investment opportunities throughout 2017.
U. S. property investments still popular among foreign investors In the most recent survey of foreign investors by AFIRE, a whopping 95 % of respondents said they planned to increase or maintain their level of U. S. investment. Survey participants cited the undeniable track record for steady returns in U. S. real estate investments, as well as a dearth of suitable alternatives from other sources.
Construction across the U. S. is on the upswing, more jobs are being filled and new ones created, and more households are forming. The 2017 National Single-Family Rental Research Report from HomeUnion predicts an unprecedented demand for single-family rentals, as the U. S. economic recovery generates hundreds of thousands of new households. The report’ s authors suggest investors take advantage of the situation by acquiring properties to protect existing portfolios and build long-term wealth.
Millennials on the move provide fresh opportunities for investors
One notable reason for the surge in household formation is U. S. millennials, who are increasingly moving out of their parents’ homes and striking out on their own— whether renting or looking for entry-level first homes to own. Both the HomeUnion report and a recent story in the Wall Street Journal took note of the trend.
HomeUnion cited U. S. Census Bureau data showing that 805,000 households( including 434,000 renter households) were formed in 2016. Strong job growth is expected to bring even more new households on line in
54 JUNE 2017 SA Real Estate Investor www. reimag. co. za