Investment capital is turning its attention to single-family rental communities in Phoenix. NorthMarq has called Phoenix the gold star for single-family rental investment. The brokerage firm has sold seven of these assets in the market since 2018, and currently has two additional listings, including the Villages at Queen Creek from TruVista Development. Investors are responding to strong tenant demand for well-managed single-family properties.

"From a tenant perspective, the demand has been fantastic," Trevor Koskovich, president of NorthMarq Investment Sales, tells GlobeSt.com. "We are seeing people moving and gravitating to this product in the most insatiable way. This is happening for all of the reasons that COVID has created. We have low-density, private backyard, your own space, pet friendly environment and all of the benefits of a single-family home without all of the maintenance. From a tenant perspective, it have become one of the most desirable assets in Phoenix."

Investors are not only attracted to the tenant demand but also to the operational efficiency and stability of these communities, which often produce better rents and tenant profiles than a comparable garden-style apartment community, according to Koskovich. "The product demand has been so robust because investors see the operational benefits," he says. "Owners are achieving rents that are better than comparable garden-style properties in the immediate neighborhood, and there is more efficient operating than a traditional single-family home. Investors are able to operate these properties extremely efficiently. They are seeing great returns on these."