There are lots of ways to start generating passive income. One option that you might have overlooked is that while we all need a place to live, not everybody can afford to buy a home and must rent instead. Being a landlord and owning a rental property can be an excellent source of durable passive income.
However, you don't have to buy a single-family home to collect rental income. A much easier and lower-cost approach is to invest in a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning rental homes. Two REITs focused on single-family rental properties trade publicly, enabling anyone to invest in them through a brokerage account. Here's a closer look at these REITs, which make it easy for anyone to start collecting passive income from rental properties.
Your invitation to collect passive income
Invitation Homes(NYSE: INVH) is the nation's leading single-family home leasing and management company. The residential REITcurrently owns or manages over 105,000 homes across 16 major U.S. housing markets, predominantly in the Sun Belt. It focuses on cities where the population and jobs are growing fastest, which drives strong demand for housing. Demand is so strong (and supplies tight) that it's currently 31% more affordable to rent than buy in its markets. That keeps occupancy high, enabling Invitation Homes to increase rents at healthy rates.
The REIT generates very stable and growing rental income. It uses a portion of that cash flow to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share ($1.12 annualized). With a share price recently around $35 apiece, Invitation Homes currently offers a dividend yield of around 3.1%. That implies you can collect about $3.10 of annual dividend income for every $100 you invest in the REIT. The more you invest, the more passive dividend income you'll collect each year.
That income stream should steadily rise as rents grow and Invitation Homes expands its portfolio. It has several ways to grow its portfolio. Invitation Homes will purchase properties from sellers, including other investors, and directly from builders. The REIT recently agreed to buy over 1,000 newly built homes from several builders in three of its core markets that it should start taking delivery of this month. It will also manage properties for other investors. The company's growth drivers should enable it to continue increasing its dividend, which it has done every year since going public in 2017, including raising the payout by nearly 8% late last year.
Building more homes and dividend income
American Homes 4 Rent(NYSE: AMH) owns nearly 60,000 single-family properties in the Southeast, Midwest, South, and Mountain West regions. The company operates in more than 30 markets.
That large and diversified portfolio supplies the REIT with steady and rising rental income, a portion of which it distributes to investors via dividends each quarter. It pays $0.26 per share ($1.04 annualized). With its share price recently over $35 apiece, AMH offers a dividend yield of around 2.9%. At that rate, every $100 invested in the REIT would produce about $2.90 of annual dividend income.
The REIT has shifted its strategic focus in recent years from acquiring homes it intends to rent out to developing properties for the rental market. The company has a development platform that acquires land to build single-family rental communities. It also has strategic relationships with several builders to acquire newly constructed homes.
American Homes currently owns enough land to build about 12,000 future homes. That should support its growth for several years, given its plan to take delivery of about 2,300 homes this year. As the REIT builds more rental properties, those new homes will increase its income, which should enable it to continue growing its dividend. It raised its payment by 18% earlier this year.
Easy ways to collect rental income
Owning rental properties can be a great way to collect passive income. Investing in a REIT focused on single-family rentals is a super easy and extremely low-cost way to get started. Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent own tens of thousands of single-family rental properties and routinely expand their portfolios by building or buying more homes. Because of that, they should supply their investors with a steadily growing stream of dividend income that could last a lifetime.
Should you invest $1,000 in Invitation Homes right now?
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Matt DiLallo has positions in Invitation Homes. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Invitation Homes. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
