While navigating a lack of capital confidence and cautious development, Mark Wolf, CEO and founder of AHV Communities, is pressing ahead in the built-to-rent (BTR) sector.
The current climate—and buzz from Washington’s housing bill that passed the Senate—has shaken the industry, but as one of the first to bring BTR to the market, Wolf is confident in AHV’s vertically-integrated developer, builder, operator model.
He says, “The next five years will separate the pioneers from the tourists. The surge of interest during the COVID years attracted many new entrants who underestimated the complexity of the product. As the market resets, we’ll see a flight to quality, operational expertise, and disciplined development. The developers and operators who truly understand the model will scale. Those who chased the trend will exit.”
Wolf shares his quick thoughts on the current BTR industry below.
You’ve been involved in thousands of multifamily units across the country. What role do you see BTR playing in meeting today’s housing demand?
BTR was never meant to replace multifamily—it was meant to evolve it. When we pioneered built-for-rent in 2013, the idea was simple: give renters the space and privacy of a home combined with the amenities, management, and community of institutional multifamily.
For years, the concept struggled because the industry didn’t fully understand it. Then COVID accelerated demand, and BTR suddenly became one of the hottest sectors in real estate. What we’re seeing now is the normal maturation of a new asset class. The market will become more disciplined, and the communities that succeed will be those built with true institutional quality and long-term operational vision.
As policymakers debate new housing legislation like the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, what potential impacts do you see for the BTR sector and institutional investment in housing?
Housing policy often creates unintended consequences when it misunderstands how housing is actually delivered. Institutional capital plays a major role in financing and building new housing supply, including purpose-built rental communities like BTR.
If legislation fails to clearly distinguish between institutional rental development and scattered single-family home acquisitions, it risks discouraging the very investment needed to produce housing at scale. The reality is simple: when policy creates uncertainty, capital steps back. When capital steps back, housing supply shrinks and ultimately, the end user, whether renter, homeowner, or both, loses.
Given today’s interest rates, construction costs, and regulatory environment, what are the biggest hurdles developers face when trying to deliver new BTR communities?
Along with the temporary supply/demand imbalance, capital confidence is right up there with the biggest challenges for the sector today. Housing fundamentals remain incredibly strong, but development requires long-term conviction from equity partners. Volatility in interest rates, construction costs, and policy direction has made that conviction harder to underwrite. Capital flows where there is clarity and predictability. Until the market regains both, development will move forward—but far more cautiously.
How do BTR communities complement, or compete with, traditional multifamily and for-sale housing in the current market?
At its best, BTR isn’t competition—it’s a bridge between apartments and homeownership. The model works when it delivers the lifestyle of a home with the professionalism of multifamily operations. However, the rapid growth of the sector produced many interpretations of BTR. Some communities are essentially horizontal apartments, while others lack the amenities and management that define institutional rental housing. When executed properly, BTR creates a distinct and highly desirable living experience. When it’s not, it’s simply housing without a clear value proposition.
What else is on your mind as it relates to the BTR sector?
BTR isn’t just a development trend—it’s an operating platform! The communities that succeed will be those built with long-term ownership, institutional management, and a deep understanding of how renters want to live today. There is a growing segment of the population that wants the space of a home with the flexibility of renting. That demand is structural, not cyclical. (Our government is not addressing that with its current approach.)
And when executed properly, BTR is one of the most compelling ways to meet that demand.
