May 2021 rents increase almost four times of those in May 2020. Detached rents up +9.2%; attached rents up +3.6.
Overall Single-Family Rent Growth in May Jumped +6.6%
May 2021 single-family rent growth increased +6.6% y/y, the fastest year-over-year jump since at least January 2005, according to the CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI). This +6.6% increase was nearly four times that in May 2020.
CoreLogic’s SFRI measures changes in rent among single-family rental home and condominiums.
Rent growth among detached single-family properties soared +9.2% in May while rent growth among attached properties increased +3.6%.
Single-Family Rent Growth by Price Tier
Lower priced single-family properties saw rent growth lag behind that of higher priced properties. The low-price tier is defined as properties with rent prices less than 75% of the region’s median and the high-price tier as having rent prices greater than 125% of the region’s median rent.
Rent prices for low-tier properties increased +4.6% y/y. This was the fastest gain in low-price rents since January 2018.
Rent prices for high-tier properties increased +7.9% y/y in May 2021, the fastest gain in high-tier rentals in the history of CoreLogic’s SFRI.
Single-Family Rent Growth by Property Type
Properties with a free-standing residential building are defined as detached while properties that are attached to other single-family units (duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhouses, row houses, condos, coo-ops) are defined as attached properties.
Because the pandemic motivated renters to want more space, privacy and outdoor amenities, single-family detached properties have experienced higher demand. Along with that higher demand, accelerated rent growth of +9.2% y/y in May became the reality for detached properties. Attached properties experienced a much more modest rent annual growth of +3.6% y/y.
Single-Family Rent Growth by Metro in May 2021
As it has for the last three consecutive years, Phoenix experienced the highest year-over-year rent growth in May with an increase of +14%. Tucson AZ followed Phoenix with an increase of +11.1% and Las Vegas experienced the third highest annual rent growth of +10.7%.
Eighteen of 20 metro markets experienced substantial annual rent growth in May 2021. Chicago (-3.1%) and Boston (-5.4%) were the only two outliers among the 20 metros that experienced decelerated annual rent growth in May.
CoreLogic estimates that strong demand for single-family rentals will remain in place throughout 2021. That continued demand is projected to keep rent increases high.
Thanks to CoreLogic.
