Housing Activists Hope to Beat Investors with Cash Offers!

Investors often use this strategy and now some housing activists are doing the same, hoping to beat investors with cash offers. It’s the cash offer on a home that often gives investors an edge, and one activist group in Milwaukee is hoping to level the playing field with funds to buy homes in cash that it will then sell to low-income families.   Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.    Act Housing is a nonprofit organization that wants to give low-income families an opportunity to buy homes that are often scooped up by investors with cash offers. The Wall Street Journal is calling them “activist house flippers.” In this case, the group would flip the homes for a minimal profit because it would sell them to families for close to the cost of the homes. (1)   Housing Acts In Fundraising Mode   The group hopes to raise $10 million by next year from the government and other groups that provide philanthropic funding. The activists spearheading this project say they are “leveling the playing field” because many sellers prefer cash offers and this provides a way for investors and future homeowners to compete at the same level.   The group’s president, Michael Gosman, explained the situation with a question: “If a family is willing to pay the same amount for a property as an investor, how do we make sure that family actually gets that opportunity.” Acting on behalf of a homebuyer, the group would make a competitive all-cash offer.    Targeting Bungalow-Style Homes   The group is targeting smaller bungalow-style homes that might cost about $75,000 to purchase, and another $25,000 to renovate. It already has more than 100 families signed up as potential buyers. More than 80% of them are people of color.   According to the Wall Street Journal, this is more of a nationwide trend, with activist groups in other places using a similar strategy. It reports that a neighborhood activist in Jackson, Mississippi, is flipping homes to first-time buyers. A nonprofit in Memphis is also doing this. In the Cincinnati area, the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority recently beat Wall Street investors in the purchase of almost 200 rental homes. And in California, lawmakers set aside half a billion dollars to help subsidize the purchase of homes and rentals by nonprofits that help families with affordable housing.   Investors Bought 1-in-5 Homes in Q1   Investors have been busy expanding their portfolios of single-family rentals. During the first quarter of this year, investors bought more than 20% of the homes that were sold. And many of those homes were converted into rentals. Investors have pulled back on their purchases since then, because of market conditions, but a pullback is also typical for this time of year.   Despite the outcry over the investor purchase of homes that are turned into rentals, there’s a huge need for rentals. Families given the opportunity to buy these homes may still be unable to qualify for a loan, so they will still need to rent. Some families also prefer to rent.   For those that hope to buy in the Milwaukee area, they may get help from this new Housing Acts group. Gosman is hoping to find homes to flip using the same techniques that investors use, like fliers on phone poles and mailers. He told The Wall Street Journal: “I think in a lot of cases we’ll copy (the investors.)”   There will be no lack of competition however. Real estate is a hot deal for everyone whether you are a future homeowner or an investor trying to build generational wealth. In addition to the purchase of existing homes, many big landlords are funding huge build-to-rent projects. JPMorgan is one of them. It has entered into a joint venture with Haven Realty Capital to spend $1 billion on hundreds of new build-to-rent homes starting with three projects in the Atlanta area. (2)   You’ll find links to the Wall Street Journal article in the show notes for this episode. You can also find out how to find deals as an investor by joining RealWealth. It’s free to join and gives you access to our market data, our experienced investment counselors, and our curated list of real estate professionals.   And please remember to subscribe to this podcast if you haven’t already, and leave us a review!   Thanks for listening. I’m Kathy Fettke.   Links:   1 - https://www.wsj.com/articles/activist-house-flippers-take-on-wall-street-to-keep-homes-from-investors-11669686997?mod=lead_feature_below_a_pos1   2 - https://www.businessinsider.com/jp-morgan-to-acquire-1-billion-of-single-family-rentals-2022-11