Single-Family Rent Growth Downshifts, Cotality Reports

Single-family rent prices increased 1.1% on a year-over-year basis in February, according to Cotality, Irvine, Calif.

“This increase is a pronounced slowdown in pace from the 2.6% increase we saw between February 2024 and 2025, and it is one-third of the pre-2020 average of 3.3%,” Cotality’s Single-Family Rent Index report said.

Rent for high-priced properties increased 2.0% year over year in February 2026, a drop from the 3.1% gain recorded a year before. Low-priced rents increased by 0.4% in February 2026, a drop from a 2.0% gain in February 2025. Rent growth for detached rentals in February 2026 was 0.8%, while attached rentals saw a 0.5% increase.

Cotality noted the widening affordability gap is putting more pressure on lower-income renters, while higher-income renters are better able to absorb rising costs.

“While it looks like rent increases have slowed significantly more for lower-income renters, when you look back at the last five years, rent growth is similar across all price tiers, highlighting how broadly gains were distributed earlier in the cycle. Higher-end rentals continue to show comparatively more stability, with prices rising 2.0% year-over-year despite ongoing deceleration,” said Molly Boesel, senior principal economist at Cotality. “Geographic differences remain substantial, but deceleration is becoming less widespread, with fewer metros seeing annual declines and slowdowns than last month.”

Boesel noted Los Angeles posted its first annual decline since the 2025 wildfires, “signaling rents are beginning to trend back toward pre wildfire levels.”

Los Angeles’ price decline was the second lowest in the nation, while Miami showed the slowest growth at -1.2%. Meanwhile, Chicago and Philadelphia saw the highest rent growth at 4.8% in February, followed by Detroit (3.7%), New York-New Jersey (2.5%) and Washington, D.C. (0.6%).