CoreLogic reported that their single-family rent index (SFRI) for March rose 4.3 percent from its year-earlier level, the lowest single-family rent growth rate since April 2022.
Tracking the changes
The recent history of the overall SFRI is shown in the first chart, below.
The chart shows that the single-family rent growth rate dropped in the early months of the pandemic but then picked up, peaking in April 2022. Recently, the SFR rent growth rate has been declining but it still remains above the pre-pandemic rate of around 3 percent.
For comparison, Yardi Matrix found that single-family rent growth in March was 2.8 percent. However, Yardi Matrix focuses on properties of 50 or more units while CoreLogic takes a broader look at the single-family rental market as described below.
Segmenting the market
In addition to the overall SFRI, CoreLogic calculates rent growth by the relative asking rent for the property in its market. It divides properties into 4 groups: those prices at 75 percent or less than the regional median (Low), those priced at 75 to 100 percent of regional median (Low-mid), those price at 100 to 125 percent of regional median (High-mid) and those priced above 125 percent of regional median. The results for March 2023 are shown in the next chart, below.
The chart shows that rent growth is higher for lower priced properties with the rate of rent growth for the lowest-priced tier of properties being over twice that of the highest-priced tier.
Looking at metros
CoreLogic reports the year-over-year single-family rent growth rate for a select group of metropolitan areas. Charlotte leads the list with rent growth of 7.7 percent. Orlando (6.6 percent), St. Louis (6.4 percent), New York (6.0 percent) and Boston (5.7 percent) round out the top 5 metros. At the other end of the scale are Las Vegas and Phoenix whose rents have fallen 0.2 percent over the last year, the only ones of the 20 listed metros to see single-family rents fall.
CoreLogic is a data and analytics company. It calculates the SFRI using “a repeat pairing methodology to single-family rental listing data in the Multiple Listing Service.” The CoreLogic report is available here.
