WASHINGTON, DC—As further evidence that the single-family rental industry is gaining traction, an industry association formed this past March by some of the sector's largest has now issued a set of operating guidelines. The guidelines come as experts see an increasingly bright future for securitizations in the space.

To date, the 10 securitizations in SFR since 2012, totaling $7.5 billion and backed by 38,000 properties, have been single-borrower deals. Published reports say 2015's securitization volume could match or exceed that amount, while over the next few months, the first multi-borrower deal in the sector is expected to reach the market.

In the view of Eric Thompson, senior managing director at Kroll Bond Rating Agency, such multi-borrower deals constitute “potentially a huge market.” However, Thompson told an audience at the recent ABS East conference in Miami that “a lot of issues have to be worked through” before ratings agencies such as KBRA are comfortable with the transactions.

One reason for the potential scale of multi-borrower SFR securitization is what continues to be fragmented ownership. Although the founding members of the National Rental Home Council, including Colony American Homes and the Blackstone Group's Invitation Homes, own about 200,000 properties among them, the group acknowledges that this figure represents “a tiny portion of the more than 100  million housing units in the US, or 14   million single-