NEWS BRIEF: More renters than buyers looking for a new home

Rentals up, ownership not so much

Building new houses with the intention of renting them out, as opposed to selling them, is a fast-growing trend in Georgia, according to a real estate market analyst, and developers are cashing in. John Hunt of MarketNSight says demand for rental properties far exceeds the current supply, and estimates that 5-1 percent of transactions now involve build-to-rent housing, compared to about 2-3 percent in recent years. “We’ve got far more people that need a place to live than we have places to live,” Hunt said. “As long as general inventory is at almost zero, you’ll continue to see anything and everything filling that space.” ajc.com