Single-Family Rent Growth Slows, But Still Positive

The latest report on single-family rents shows that rent growth is still positive, but declining in step with the Fed-induced economic slowdown. CoreLogic just released its Single-Family Rent Index for April which shows another monthly dip and rent growth levels for various metros. (1)   Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. Please remember to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a review.   The CoreLogic report shows that single-family rents were up 3.7% in April for all the U.S. metros included in the index. That’s down from 4.3% in March, and 14% from April of last year. The report shows single-digit rent increases for the most part. Las Vegas was the only exception with a negative reading of .8%.   Despite the huge year-over-year decline, single-family rents are still up almost 26% since the beginning of the pandemic, thanks to strong demand and low inventory.   Gains Approaching Pre-Pandemic Levels   CoreLogic principal Economist, Molly Boesel, said in a press release: “Single-family rent growth has slowed for a full year, and overall gains are approaching pre-pandemic rates.” She says: “Prior to 2020, single-family rent gains increased in the range of 2% to 4% for nearly a decade.”   Boesel also said that it appears rent growth is bottoming out which means that rent increases we’ve seen over the past three years are “more or less permanent.”    The CoreLogic analysis separates rent growth into four rent-level tiers and two property types. For lower-priced single-family homes, which are valued at 75% or less than the regional median, rent growth was up 6% in April. For lower-middle priced homes, at 75% to 100% of the regional median, rent growth was up 4.6%. High-middle priced homes, which fall in the 100% to 125% of the regional median, were up 4.1%. And higher-priced homes were up 2.4%. As for attached versus detached homes, attached single-family rents were up 4.6% while detached rents were up 2.6%.   Top Rent-Growth Metros   Let’s take a look at a few of the top 20 rent-growth metros. CoreLogic says that Charlotte, North Carolina took the top spot with the highest year-over-year increase in single-family rents. They were up 6.9% in April. Boston and Orlando had the next highest rent-growth levels at 6.2% and 6% respectively. A few other metros I find interesting include Dallas with 3.5% in April, and Atlanta with 3.4%. The index is comprised of close to 100 metros.   That’s it for an update on single-family rent growth. You can read more about CoreLogic latest report at newsforinvestors.com. You can also find out more about investing in single-family rentals at as a RealWealth member. It’s free to join for complete access to all our educational material along, networking opportunities, and real estate professionals that can help you build wealth.    Please remember to subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!   And thanks for joining me on the Real Estate News for Investors.   -Kathy Fettke   Links:   1 - https://www.corelogic.com/intelligence/us-single-family-rent-growth-continues-yearlong-descent-in-april-corelogic-reports/