Point2Homes: Long-Term Single-Family Rentals Gaining Ground

(Thumbnail photo credit: Blake Wheeler via Unsplash)

Point2Homes, Santa Barbara, Calif., released a new report finding that renters are staying in single-family homes for longer.

Short-term stays are less popular, the analysis found. Compared with 2017 numbers, the number of house renters who spend less than 1 year in a home before moving fell 4.5% in 2022 and decreased in 70 out of the 75 metro areas Point2Homes reviewed.

Per an analysis of Census Bureau data, renters who spend 5-9 years in their rental increased by 2 percentage points. Those who spend more than 10 years in their rental increased by 2.7 percentage points.

The biggest drops in the shares of short-term renters from 2017-2022 included Bakersfield, Calif., down by 12.4%, Tucson, Ariz., down by 10%, and Omaha-Council Bluffs Nebraska-Iowa, also down by 10%.

The metros that have seen the largest increases in the share of long-term renters (those in their rental homes for 5-9 years) include Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., up by 7.2%, Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev., up by 6.9% and Bakersfield, Calif., and Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif., both up by 5.8%.

And the metros that have seen the biggest increases in the share of very long-tenure renters (those in their rental homes for 10 years or more) include Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif., up 7.6%, New Orleans-Metairie, La., up 7.2%, and Providence-Warwick, Rhode Island-Massachusetts, up by 5.6%.

These trends come amid increased home prices, interest rates and constrained supply, and rendering renters’ preferences also relevant, Point2Homes noted.

Nearly half of single-family renters, at 47%, gravitate toward three-bedroom homes. Los Angeles has the highest number of three-bedroom home renters, followed by Dallas and Philadelphia.