Invitation Homes INVH is slated to report second-quarter 2026 results on July 29, after market close. The company’s quarterly results are likely to highlight year-over-year increases in revenues and funds from operations (FFO) per share.
In the last reported quarter, this residential real estate investment trust (REIT) posted a core FFO per share of 48 cents, meeting the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Results reflected firm operating momentum, with higher blended rentals and improved leasing trends.
Over the preceding four quarters, INVH’s core FFO per share met the Zacks Consensus Estimate on all occasions, with the average beat being 0.00%. The graph below depicts this surprise history:
Invitation Home Price and EPS Surprise
Invitation Home price-eps-surprise | Invitation Home Quote
In this article, we will dive deep into the U.S. apartment market environment and the company's fundamentals and analyze the factors that may have contributed to its second-quarter 2026 performance.
US Apartment Market in Q2
The U.S. multifamily market entered the second half of 2026 with a clearer recovery taking shape, as strong renter demand and a rapidly shrinking supply pipeline began translating into lower vacancy and improving rent growth.
According to a Cushman & Wakefield report, net absorption reached roughly 124,600 units, up from 83,500 units in the first quarter and 8% above the prior year, making it the fifth-strongest quarter in nearly 25 years. The supply picture also became more favorable. Approximately 88,000 units were delivered during the quarter, down 27% year over year. Around 475,000 units remained under construction at quarter-end, equal to just 3.5% of existing inventory.
Improving demand and slowing supply pushed the national vacancy rate down 35 basis points quarter over quarter to 8.9%, its first move below 9% since 2024. On a trailing four-quarter basis, absorption of approximately 362,000 units exceeded deliveries of about 358,000 units for the first time since early 2022, indicating vacancy is likely to have passed its cyclical peak. The recovery was particularly pronounced in previously overbuilt markets: Austin; Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA; Huntsville, AL; Salt Lake City, UT, and Colorado Springs recorded some of the largest quarterly vacancy declines.
Rent growth remains modest but is beginning to improve. National asking rents reached approximately $1,945 per month, up 1.5% year over year, compared with 1.1% growth in the first quarter. The Bay Area led the recovery, with San Francisco rents rising 13%, San Jose 7% and the East Bay 4.8%. Norfolk, VA; Toledo, OH; Reno, NV, and Boise, ID, also posted strong gains.
High-supply markets remained softer, with rents still declining in Austin and Sarasota, FL, although the pace of those declines moderated as excess supply was absorbed. Overall, the market appears to be shifting from stabilization into an occupancy-led recovery, with broader rent growth likely as the construction pipeline continues to shrink.
Factors at Play and Projections for Invitation Homes
Invitation Homes’ second-quarter 2026 performance is likely to have benefited from stronger peak-season leasing trends, improving occupancy and steady renewal pricing. Management said April occupancy accelerated to 97.1%, up 80 basis points from the first-quarter average, while new lease rent growth returned to positive territory at just under 0.5%. Renewal rent growth remained in the low-3% range, lifting blended rent growth to 2.3%. These trends suggest that same-store revenue growth may have improved from the first quarter as demand remained healthy and available rental supply moderated.
Renewals should remain the key support, with management expecting mid-3% to mid-4% renewal growth through the year. New lease pricing is likely to have strengthened further through late second quarter as the gap with renewal rates narrowed during the peak leasing season.
For the second quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for INVH’s rental revenues currently stands at $669.3 million, up from $592.5 million reported in the prior-year period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter total revenues is pegged at $714.3 million, indicating a rise of 4.8% from the year-ago reported number.
However, elevated inventory in some markets could still have limited pricing power, making occupancy preservation important.
Invitation Homes’ activities in the to-be-reported quarter were inadequate to garner analysts’ confidence. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarterly FFO per share has remained unchanged at 49 cents over the past two months. However, the figure suggests an improvement of 2.1% year over year.
What Our Quantitative Model Predicts for Invitation Homes
Our proven model does not conclusively predict a surprise in terms of FFO per share for INVH this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an FFO beat, which is not the case here.
Invitation Homes currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Stocks That Warrant a Look
Here are two stocks from the broader REIT sector — Extra Space Storage EXR and Cousins Properties CUZ— you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to report an FFO beat this quarter.
Extra Space Storage is slated to report quarterly numbers on July 28. EXR has an Earnings ESP of +0.39% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Cousins is slated to report quarterly numbers on July 30. CUZ has an Earnings ESP of +0.45% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.
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Invitation Home (INVH): Free Stock Analysis Report
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Extra Space Storage Inc (EXR): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).