“Temporal Cohort Effects and Satisfaction for Independent Residential Rental Property Owners”—Authors Information and Contributions

Traditional accounts of multifamily rental property ownership have often emphasized locational factors for Residential Rental Property Owners (RRPOs). However, there are reasons to believe that the timing of when RRPOs, particularly those who are independent rather than those working on behalf of financial institutions, enter the business also has important implications for their career trajectories. This study tests three hypothesized implications of these “temporal cohort effects”. First, rising market conditions are associated with greater satisfaction, more property acquisition, and less property disposition. Second, younger RRPOs are more likely to add to and less likely to reduce their portfolios, and vice versa for older ones. Third, RRPOs at the beginning of their careers (somewhat but not entirely correlated with age) are more likely to buy and less likely to sell, and vice versa for those closer to the end. This study tests these hypotheses using a cluster of variables from the Institutional RRPO Survey (IRRPOS) collected in two waves from nine cities in the United States. It finds partial confirmation for the three hypotheses. However, RRPOs appear to value stability amidst rising markets, leading them to engage in defensive decision-making under such circumstances.