Here's an interesting profit niche for rental property owners that doesn't get a lot of media attention: Corporate housing.

That means you target your furnished rental unit not at long-term tenants, but at people who've been transferred for short to medium-term assignments by their companies, or who have moved themselves to a new work location, and want to take a few months to get their bearings.

Or maybe they just need a place to stay while they're waiting for their house to sell … or get remodeled.

The good news about this real estate segment: Corporate housing rentals are more than holding their own in tough economic times, and they often yield more revenue for investors than conventional rentals.

According to the industry's trade group, corporate housing rentals had an average occupancy rate of 88.5 percent last year, while standard lodging and hotels were lucky to break 70 percent in many locations.

The best-known forms of corporate housing are the extended-stay units run by national companies such as Oakwood or Equity Corporate Housing.

But there are also plenty of opportunities for individual investors -- people with one to ten units who want to maximize income while also keeping a close management eye on their property.

For do-it-yourselfers, the biggest marketing resource in the field is the online CorporateHousingByOwner.com, which has more than 20,000 registered users -- primarily executive relocation directors, plus employees and others who travel frequently -- and 4,000-plus rental listings.

The Colorado-based company takes no commissions, just an up-front annual listing fee of $329, with discounts for "power owners" who list multiple units.

Unit owners have total control over lengths of stay, pricing, and availability of their properties. They supply photos and property descriptions for the website listings. They also handle all reservations, tenant screening and management issues, and pocket all the rental income.

Kimberly Smith, the company's CEO, told Realty Times in an interview last week that her marketing platform has opened the door to much higher returns for some individual investors - thirty to fifty percent higher annual revenues per unit than they'd been getting with conventional rentals.

Listings tend to be apartments, townhouses or detached homes in or near major employment centers, but there are also some properties that are a little different - such as a 10,000 square foot mansion in Southhampton, Long Island, with 10 bedrooms, 12 baths, pool and estate-type acreage.

Just in case you're interested: the place rents for $4,000 a night, eighteen to twenty-five thousand a week. Or a flat 350 grand if you want it for the whole year.

Published: October 9, 2009

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Kenneth R. Harney writes an award-winning, nationally-syndicated column on housing and real estate from Washington, D.C. He is also managing director of the National Real Estate Development Center, a professional education company. He is a past member of the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council, a committee that by federal statute reviews all Fed actions on home mortgage, consumer credit and banking industry regulation. He served as a member of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Working Group on Computerized Loan Origination (CLO) systems, and is a member of the Editorial Board of the Fannie Mae Foundation's journal, Housing Policy Debate. He is the author of two books on mortgage finance and real estate.