According to etfdailynews.com, Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital, said at the Sohn Investment Conference, “Single-family housing is overrated. Renting is more appealing across all age groups, all parts of the U.S., city, suburb, small town and rural.” Investor Bill Miller of Legg Mason disagreed, saying housing affordability and low mortgage rates will lure homebuyers back to the market. Sam Zell, Chairman of Equity Residential, the nation’s largest apartment owner with almost 400 properties and more than 110,000 units, said the trend to rent is lifestyle driven more than economic. Noting it’s the deferral of marriage and delay of having children, he said, “I don’t think the multifamily market has ever had a better set of future demographics.” With a dividend yield of 3.2 percent, Equity Residential targets the higher-end markets that are more insulated when it comes to downturns: San Francisco, Washington, D. C., New York, Boston and southern California. As MHProNews knows, Zell is also chairman of Equity LifeStyle Properties, the largest owner of manufactured housing and recreational vehicle communities (MHCs) in North America, with nearly 380 communities and over 140,000 homesites. ##

(Photo credit: Equity LifeStyle Properties, Lake Haven, Clearwater, Florida)