Trends in Investor Acquisition of Residential Properties in New Jersey

Will B. Payne and Eric Seymour released a new report, “Trends in Investor Acquisition of Residential Properties in New Jersey.” Corporate ownership of single-family homes and other small residentialproperties has drawn growing concern from housing advocates andpolicymakers in New Jersey and nationally. While the large rental homecompanies that sprang up in the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis are virtuallyabsent from New Jersey, prior research has found that corporate owners accountfor a rising share of property sales in Newark (Troutt & Nelson, 2022) and ofownership of small residential properties in multiple jurisdictions across thestate (New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, 2022). These trends have raised concerns about investors competing for the state’s already limited stockof moderately priced homes, making homeownership even harder to attain, and about rental conditions, as corporate landlords are often associated with stricter screening, higher rents and fees, and faster resort to eviction.

With support from the New Jersey State Policy Lab, this report analyzes corporate ownership of 1–4-unit residential properties in New Jersey, excluding condominiums, using parcel-level property tax data from 2012 to 2022. It examines how the share of corporate-owned homes haschanged over time, how corporate entities fit within the broader landscape ofowner-occupants and non-corporate investors, and how properties have movedinto corporate ownership, distinguishing the conversion of existing rentalsfrom the loss of owner-occupied housing. The analysis also assesses portfolio size as a measure of market power and considers whether corporate owners are local, in-state, or out-of-state, raising questions about absentee ownership and accountability to tenants, neighborhoods, and municipalities.

Federally Assisted Housing in New Jersey

This report examines the stock of federally subsidized rental housing units. It first investigates how federal housing priorities have shifted over time, and how those shifts have reshaped the composition of federally subsidized housing units in New Jersey. It then examines each federal program and summarizes how many units the program supports and where they are located in New Jersey. For each program, it considers challenges to future housing security. The report concludes with a discussion about the need to more consistently track federally assisted units and the time-delimited subsidies that support them and to create a comprehensive preservation plan. 

Homelessness in New Brunswick and Programs to Address It

In the Fall of 2024, five Ralph W. Voorhees Public Service Fellows worked with New Community Corporation, a community development organization in Newark, New Jersey, to research housing navigation. Part of a Rutgers Equity Alliance for Community Health (REACH) community engaged project, the Fellows sought to better understand the work of contemporary housing navigation.

Homelessness in New Brunswick and Programs to Address It

This report identifies the challenges that emergency service organizations and their clients are experiencing as they attempt to access, or consider accessing, the existing service infrastructure and to identify areas of unmet need.