Single-Family Rent Growth Hits 35-Year High

High rent growth and inflation are just a few of the driving factors for a major rise in housing capital, according to the Burns Single-Family Rent Index (BSFRI).

Investor and capital transactions from 2020 are a result of a massive increase in single-family rent growth with over $30 billion in capital targeting US rental housing.

Capital is flooding in for a host of great reasons:

Worldwide bond yields are at historic lows, and investors need yield.
Inflation is on the rise, and most investors view rental homes as an inflation hedge.
Record high rent growth (see chart below) is supported by high occupancy rates.
Renters have demonstrated that they are willing to pay a premium to rent in a new home neighborhood managed by a professional landlord. While the news headlines and NIMBYs are busy bashing institutional owners, many renters are clearly enjoying a better rental experience living with renter (instead of homeowner) neighbors and having no fear that their landlord might decide to sell the home sometime soon.

Single-family rents have grown 6% in the last year per our Burns Single-Family Rent Index™ (BSFRI). This is the highest growth in the 35 years of data we have compiled. The BSFRI is a weighted average of rental home rents in the 63 major single-family rental markets we track.

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