A Portrait of the Modern American Landlord: More Than Half of Rental Property Owners Are Small-Time Investors—and New to the Market

Just months before their wedding, Hilary Reiter Azzaretti and her then-fiance moved in together and inadvertently stumbled into a lucrative line of work as landlords in Utah's most prestigious ski town.

"We live in Park City, and the condo he was living in is in an incredible location, walking distance to the ski slopes," Reiter Azzaretti, president of Redhead Marketing & PR, tells Realtor.com®. "It didn't make sense to sell as we can rent it annually for a rate that generates income."

The first-time landlords briefly considered converting their condo into a short-term rental but ultimately concluded that the potential drawbacks, such as the wear and tear on the property, outweighed the economic benefits.

"Housing is hard to come by in Park City due to the proliferation of nightly rentals, so we like to think we are giving back to the community a bit by giving someone a place to live where pets are allowed," says Reiter Azzaretti.

The Utah couple are part of a new wave of landlords sharing some key traits: They are largely independent, financially motivated, and have entered the market within the last five years.

Reiter Azzaretti and her husband's situation is not uncommon as landlords. One in 4 (25.1%) are in business with a family member such as a parent, a sibling, or a life partner and just 11% co-own or manage properties with businesses associates, according to a new study from the Avail online landlord platform, which is part of the Realtor.com network.

To better understand the independent landlord market, researchers conducted a five-question Appcues survey over three days in late December 2025, targeting more than 1,000 property owners.

One of the key findings to emerge from the assessment is that the rental market is dominated by newcomers like Reiter Azzaretti and her husband, Marco, with more than half of respondents (53%) having become landlords in 2021 or later.

Notably, 2025 was the most common entry year, representing roughly 17% of all participating landlords.

About 3 in 10 respondents said they first entered the rental market between 2010 and 2020.

Intentional vs. accidental landlords

Landlords generally fall into two camps: intentional and accidental. 

According to the study, the majority of respondents (57.9%) become landlords by purchasing a property with the explicit goal of generating rental income.

However, close to a third (30.1%) reported entering the market by keeping and leasing out their previous home.

The remaining roughly 12% of participants took alternative paths into renting, from inheriting property or managing it on someone else's behalf, to acquiring it through marriage, as was the case with the Utah newlyweds.

Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner says the rise of the accidental landlord aligns with recent housing data.

"We've had two years of historically low sales activity and prices have significantly softened in 2025, leading to a wave of delistings," he says. "Many people who would otherwise have sold their home were not content with the price they could command and started leasing their home out. This represents a boost to rental supply, which will help to keep rents falling nationally."

Why become a landlord?

People become landlords for a variety of reasons, but just over 41% of survey respondents cited building long-term wealth as their top motivation.

Reiter Azzaretti says this forward-thinking mindset is what led her and husband to rent out his condo in ritzy Park City three years ago rather than sell it.

"The Winter Olympics return here in 2034, so it’s worth holding on to the property as it’s walking distance to several competitions and will likely to continue to increase in value," she says.

At the same time, nearly a third of survey takers said they were motivated by generating passive income, while roughly 12% cited retirement planning as their main reason for renting their property. 

As for the scope of their portfolios, most landlords who participated in the Avail study (72%) reported managing between one and four rental units, signaling a strong presence of noninstitutional, mom-and-pop investors.

The remaining 28% said they have five or more properties—including 13% whose holdings include more than 10 rentals. 

Looking to the future, Reiter Azzaretti does not rule out reshaping her own real estate portfolio with an overseas investment.

"There is a possibility we will purchase a home in Italy before selling the Park City condo," she explains. "In that case, we would Airbnb it when we aren’t there as my brother-in-law in Rome can manage that."

Reiter Azzaretti acknowledges that being a landlord can be labor-intensive and often stressful, but says her own positive experience as a long-time tenant under the care of an attentive property owner in Park City has shaped her approach.

"He was always prompt in making repairs and addressing any issues," she recalls. "I hope that we are easygoing landlords and just as responsive as he was."