'Owner/Resident/Landlord': Trending?

This weekend’s Times section has an article looking into the maybe-trend of people buying two or more condos in the same building, a type of investor who “has decided to buy a second and sometimes third apartment to become an owner/resident/landlord. This investor is strongly motivated by two current market trends: low mortgage rates and record-breaking rents in certain neighborhoods.” The story says this sort of buyer is sometimes motivated by a view of profit in the long run (warehousers, writ small), and sometimes making a profit via the very high rents they can charge. Here is the Brooklyn example:

Low monthly costs were what recently inspired Fabrizio Uberti Bona, an agent at MNS, to buy a second apartment at the Edge, a 565-unit project on the waterfront in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. When sales slowed to a trickle during the recession, the Edge seemed like a white elephant. But with little new development inventory coming to market, sales picked up significantly last year, and the building is now more than 90 percent sold. Mr. Bona, who has helped sell or rent many units at the Edge, went into contract for his two-bedroom apartment in early 2008 while the building was under construction, and did not move in until last spring. He is now in contract to buy a studio that he says should rent for about $2,750 a month. “As an agent and a resident, I saw the value going up with price increases and rentals being so high,” he said, adding that he had helped several owners buy and rent out second apartments. “I thought, since this is what I do for a living, let’s see if I can do it, too.” The studio will cost him $495,000 — about 15 percent more than what it would have sold for in 2008, he estimates. “It’s still a great value for what it is,” he said, “because of the return on investment by renting it.” After paying his mortgage and monthly costs, which include $4 a month in taxes, he expects to clear almost $1,000 a month in profit.

Guess the question is how many people are actually doing this these days, and whether those looking for short-term gains are protected simply because of how low rates are right now.
The Investor Next Door [NY Times]