The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 28th that, thanks to the development of information technology (IT) in the United States, so-called “Laptop Landlords”, which buy and rent houses in remote places that have not been visited before, are increasing online.
According to the report, New York City resident Jack Cronin, 28, had never visited Jackson, Mississippi, but bought a three-bedroom home in the area for $265,000. And he’s taking in tenants he’s never met, and he’s getting $2,300 a month in rent.
Laptop owners like Cronin are usually high-income IT professionals in metropolitan areas. They view rental property ownership as a key investment vehicle along with stock and bond investments. The rise in laptop homeowners is also due to advances in technology that have simplified this process and made it possible to buy a home online, the WSJ said.
For example, data service providers provide detailed information on housing purchases, such as sales prices, local crime rates and school status, and online real estate companies such as ‘Loopstock’ and ‘Affiliate’ connect the manager. Content publishers and online forums also provide investment strategies and advice. “Everything is possible online,” said real estate consultant John Burns.
According to Core Logic, a real estate information company, the proportion of investment home purchases in total single-family home sales increased from 17% in February last year to 28% in February this year.
Individuals like Cronin or small businesses with 10 or fewer homes accounted for about half of all investment home purchases. The areas where professionals invest mainly were large cities in the southern region with many low- and middle-income tenants.
According to ‘Atom Data Solutions’, a real estate information company, the proportion of investors from other states in total home sales in the first half of this year was in southern regions such as Raleigh, North Carolina (4.24%), Atlanta, Georgia (5.26%), and Memphis, Tennessee (8.61%). Big cities are much higher than average.
As such, as laptop owners living in other states are buying and selling and rents are rising, criticism is also being raised that it is becoming increasingly difficult for people living in those areas to ‘buy their own house’. Aaron Banks, a councilor for the Southern District of Jackson, said the increase in investment home purchases could lead to higher rents and “put people in a vicious cycle of being tenants for the rest of their lives”.
However, there are objections that the purchase of a home for investment has opened the way for tenants to access a good school district and a safe area. The price of existing houses has already risen and there are not many for sale, so people are being pushed out of the housing market and have no choice but to rent a house.
“As long as these people in other states provide a good home for residents to live in, they’re also serving the community,” said Kevin Otner, Affiliate’s chief executive.