As home prices have increased, single-family rentals have grown in popularity. According to the Calculated Risk blog, which cites data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there has been a significant increase in the number of single-family units constructed explicitly for renting. While multifamily units still make up a majority of properties in the build-to-rent space, single-family starts have seen significant growth over the last several years. In 2020, just 44,000 single-family homes were built for rent, but that figure nearly doubled to 77,000 by 2023. As of Q2 2024, there were 23,000 single-family rental starts, an increase from 21,000 during the same period in 2023.
For multi-family, there were 83,000 units started to rent in Q2 2024, down almost 40% from 136,000 in Q2 2023. A total of 106,000 units were started built-for-rent in Q2, with 19% single family units. Read more
