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House-Flipping Tech Powers a Boom in Single-Family Rentals

In Phoenix’s hot housing market, investors are turning to new tools that help them quickly buy, repair and rent out large portfolios of homes.  

A row of new homes in Gilbert, Arizona. The Phoenix area, which has been experiencing dramatic rent increases, has become a hotbed for single-family rental properties. 

A row of new homes in Gilbert, Arizona. The Phoenix area, which has been experiencing dramatic rent increases, has become a hotbed for single-family rental properties. 

Photographer: Joshua Lott/Bloomberg

Patrick Sisson
Corrected

Like many real estate investors in Phoenix, Albert Hernandez wanted to cash in on the sprawling southwestern city’s stratospheric growth. In 2011, he started buying rental properties to supplement his income, and by 2022 had quit his job working for a hedge fund to go full-time with Venture Real Estate LLC. Along with multifamily buildings, he’s been building a portfolio of single-family rental properties — the fastest-growing segment of the housing market. Especially in Phoenix. 

“We’ve blown up. With so many investors and institutional investors buying here, it’s a hot place to be,” he said.