Looks can be deceiving for motorists as they drive by what looks like a new subdivision under construction in the Huntsville metro.

The houses are a little smaller. So are the yards. The neighborhood will be more densely populated.

But motorists won’t see any for sale signs. These homes are part of a rising trend in the fastest growing city in Alabama. They are built to rent.

“We have lots of people who are moving here who can’t find or can’t afford a home and don’t want to be in an apartment, a traditional three-story garden-style apartment,” 1805 developer Luke Allen said at a Huntsville Planning Commission meeting last year.

“This is a product our city can offer that would really be unique, and is a newer product in the real estate world that people are really desiring and engaging with and wanting to be involved with,” he said.