REAL ESTATE INVESTORS MOVE TOWARDS RENTAL STRATEGY, DIFFER ON FUTURE MARKET DYNAMICS IN RCN CAPITAL SPRING INVESTOR SENTIMENT SURVEY

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Jul 24, 2023, 12:30 ET

High cost of financing, limited inventory, and competition from other buyers cited as major challenges

SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn., July 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Real estate investors appear to be focused more on rental properties than on fix-and-flip opportunities according to the Spring 2023 Investor Sentiment Survey from RCN Capital, conducted by market intelligence firm CJ Patrick Company. More than half of the survey respondents (53%) indicated that they plan to hold investment properties as rentals, almost twice the 30% who plan to flip the homes.

"The National Association of Realtors® noted that existing home sales in May were down over 20% from a year ago, and ATTOM recently reported that the number of properties flipped in the second quarter of 2023 was the lowest number in almost two years, so it's no surprise that investors are more focused on rental properties today," said RCN Capital CEO Jeffrey Tesch. "Our survey results mirror the trend toward rental investments and reflects what we're seeing in our current loan activity."

The Spring 2023 Investor Sentiment Survey is the first in what will be a quarterly report from RCN Capital taking the pulse of real estate investors across the country, identifying market challenges and opportunities, and getting feedback on current trends and events.

Overall, investors' sentiment on the current state of the real estate market is split fairly evenly, with 30% saying conditions are better than they were a year ago; 32% saying they're about the same, and 37% saying they're worse. Views on the market six months from now are more diverse, with 30% believing conditions will improve, 44% thinking they'll be about the same, and 26% feeling they'll get worse. But while the trend among real estate investors may be skewing more heavily towards rentals, fix-and-flip investors are more optimistic about opportunities in the coming months than single-family rental property (SFR) investors. Some 38% of flippers believe conditions will improve in the next six months, with only 19% believing they'll worsen. Rental investors believe the opposite - only 19% believe things will get better, while 31% believe they'll get worse.

Shifts in the type of housing demand investors are seeing offer some insights into some of the trends noted above. For example, 24% of fix-and-flip investors noted a decrease in demand for owner-occupied homes in their markets, while 31% of SFR investors cited an increase in demand for rental properties. More broadly, 34% of the investors surveyed claimed that they were seeing both less demand for owner-occupied homes and more demand for rental properties.

No Housing Price Crash, but a Recession Seems Likely

Investors don't expect the kind of housing price crash that some market analysts have been predicting. About 75% believe that prices will remain the same or go up slightly over the next 6 months. But here again, there were significant differences of opinion between SFR investors and flippers. About 35% of rental property investors expected to see property values increase compared to 45% of flippers; and 32% of SFR investors expect to see price declines, while the same is true of only 15% of fix-and-flip investors. Some 39% of flippers think prices will remain about the same, while 33% of SFR investors do.

But despite being somewhat optimistic about the market environment going forward, almost half of those surveyed (44%) believed that the US would enter a recession in 2023 or 2024. Only 15% said that the country would avoid a recession, while 41% were unsure.

Higher Cost of Financing Seen as Major Challenge Today and Going Forward

Investors overwhelmingly cited today's higher financing costs as the biggest challenge facing their business. Lack of supply is the second highest-rated challenge, followed by competition from consumers, competition from larger investors, and difficulty securing a loan. These were also cited, in the same order, as the challenges investors are most likely to face six months from now. One interesting observation from the data is that larger investors – those planning to buy more than 11 properties in the next 12 months – cited the difficulty in securing a loan as a challenge more often than smaller investors, and in fact, it's the second highest-rated challenge by these investors in the next six months. This may be an indication of credit tightening by regional and local banks, which have historically been a source for these types of commercial loans.

"Despite higher financing costs and the downturn in home sales, investors continue to be pretty resilient, with almost two-thirds believing that today's environment is about the same or better than it was a year ago," noted Rick Sharga, CJ Patrick Company CEO. "That's probably good news for a housing market that may be heavily dependent on investor purchases to help accelerate its recovery."

About RCN Capital

RCN Capital is a South Windsor, CT-based national, direct, private lender. Established in 2010, RCN provides commercial loans for the purchase or refinance of non-owner occupied residential properties. The company specializes in new construction financing, short-term fix & flip and bridge financing, and long-term rental financing for real estate investors. For more information on RCN Capital and RCN's loan programs, visit www.RCNCapital.com

About CJ Patrick Company

Founded in 2019, CJ Patrick Company is a Market Intelligence and Business Advisory firm working with companies in the real estate and mortgage industries. Visit www.cjpatrick.com for more information.

SOURCE RCN Capital