With capital shifting from the more challenged office and retail sectors toward residential, investors are increasingly broadening their scope to include different forms of for-rent housing. Yet some wonder whether these new schemes are simply a repackaging of a familiar product — and whether doubling down in this segment creates unwelcome correlations in a downturn.

In a way, it comes as no surprise that investment managers are increasingly shifting focus to all things living. After all, physical space is at its most valuable when it satisfies a critical need — and perhaps no other period in recent memory has put more emphasis on the necessity of home than the pandemic. With residences having evolved to also serve as office, gym and the occasional happy hour spot, residential investments are replacing other property types in diversified real asset portfolios.

While a strategy predicated on following tenant needs is a logical one, some have rightly wondered whether