Why Invitation Homes Stock Surged More Than 12% in December

Shares of Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH) jumped by 12.1% in December, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Continued strong demand for single-family rental homes helped fuel that rally.

Invitation Homes, a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on single-family rental homes, is benefiting from surging demand for this type of housing. CoreLogic reported in December that single-family home rents were up 10.9% year over year in October. That was triple the growth reported in the prior year and the sixth straight monthly record high for single-family rent growth. CoreLogic also noted that the vacancy rate on such homes was at a 25-year low.

Driving the high demand for single-family rentals is an expensive and competitive for-sale housing market that is forcing many potential buyers to remain renters. Meanwhile, many of these renters desire more space, which is leading them to seek out houses to rent instead of apartments.

Source Fool.com