Invitation Homes owns and rents single-family houses across major U.S. metropolitan markets, operating as one of the largest institutional owners of single-family rental homes in the country. As a real estate investment trust, the company distributes most of its taxable income to shareholders as dividends, generating revenue from rental income across its portfolio of owned single-family homes. Its business model represents a relatively newer category of real estate investment, since single-family rental housing was historically owned by individual landlords rather than large institutional investors before companies like Invitation Homes began acquiring homes at scale following the 2008 housing crisis. Invitation Homes' rental income and property values are sensitive to local housing market conditions, job growth in its target metropolitan markets, and the relative cost of renting versus buying a home for the families that make up its tenant base.