CoreLogic: March Single-Family Rent Growth Slides

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said annual single-family rent price growth wound down to 4.3% in March, marking nearly a year of decelerating gains.

“Single-family rent price gains continued to slow year-over-year in March, with growth at about one-third of the rate as observed one year earlier,” said Molly Boesel, Principal Economist with CoreLogic.

Boesel noted the slowdown is more pronounced in higher-priced SFR homes, where growth is now about the same as it was before the pandemic. “However, gains in the lower tier are still twice the pre-pandemic rate, with all tracked metro areas posting increases at that price level,” she said.

In March, year-over-year rental cost growth slowed in all four price tiers that CoreLogic tracks, but the lowest tier posted the highest growth, suggesting a lack of affordability continues to pressure  tenants’ budgets amid a scarce inventory of lower-cost rentals. Furthermore, while rent growth slowed to its lowest rate since February 2021, single-family rents continued to increase and the cumulative gain since February 2020 has totaled 23.2%.

Every metro tracked in the CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index posted lower rent growth in March than a year before. Las Vegas and Phoenix saw rents decline year over year, mirroring trends observed in CoreLogic’s most recent home price data. Charlotte, N.C. topped the list for the highest rent growth in March, but its 7.7% increase fell far short of the 25-to-41% gains recorded for top metros in March 2022.

National single-family rent growth across those tiers and the year-over-year changes, were:

•             Lower-priced (75% or less than the regional median): up 6.7%, down from 13.4% in March 2022

•             Lower-middle priced (75% to 100% of the regional median): up 5.3%, down from 14.1% in March 2022

•             Higher-middle priced (100% to 125% of the regional median): up 4.3%, down from 14.5% in March 2022

•             Higher-priced (125% or more than the regional median): up 2.9%, down from 12.9% in March 2022

•             Attached versus detached: Attached single-family rental prices grew by 5% year-over-year in March, compared with a 3.2% increase for detached rentals