Single-Family Rental Returns Dip, ATTOM Reports

(Thumbnail photo credit: Mike Sorohan)

Single-family rents are rising in many markets, but record-high home prices are compressing SFR yields, according to ATTOM, Irvine, Calif.

The firm’s annual Single-Family Rental Market report found that rental yields are declining from 2025 to 2026 in 54.8% (187) of the 341 counties with sufficient data to analyze for both years.

Those drops in profitability come despite rent increases outstripping home price increases in more than half of counties. In 55% (229) of the 416 counties with sufficient rent and price data, median rents rose at a greater rate than median sales prices between 2025 and 2026, ATTOM said.

Last year home values rose to a record-high national median sales price of $360,000. ATTOM noted that as a result, landlords are facing higher up-front costs to acquire properties than ever before. But those price increases are also forcing many tenants to continue renting–even at increased rental rates–because they can’t afford to buy, the report added.

“Many landlords have been able to offset higher acquisition costs with rent growth, but returns are tightening in a majority of counties,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said. “Investors will need to be more selective, focusing on markets where rent growth and affordability trends continue to support strong returns.”

The report found that Midwestern counties lead the rental return projections. The counties with the highest potential rental yields for three-bedroom apartments in 2026 were Saint Clair County, Ill. (14.5% yield); Mobile County, Ala. (13.6%); Peoria County, Ill. (12.5%); Saint Louis County, Minn. (11.6%); and Trumbull County, Ohio (11.5%).

But rental returns dipped in the majority of counties. Between 2025 and 2026, potential rental yields on three-bedroom apartments fell in 54.8% (187) of the 341 counties with sufficient data to analyze for both years.

The counties with the largest declines in potential yields were Atlantic County, N.J. (down from 17.5% in 2025 to 8.5% in 2026); Suffolk County, N.Y. (down from 17.7% to 10.8%); Indian River County, Fla. (down from 11.9% to 7.9%); Maui County, Hawaii (down from 8% to 4.2%); and Caddo Parish, La. (down from 10.3% to 7.2%).

Best single-family rental markets

ATTOM’s analysis identified 18 “SFR Growth” counties where average wages grew over the past year and where potential 2026 rental yields exceeded 10%.

The largest of those counties are Suffolk County, N.Y.; Onondaga County, N.Y.; Lucas County, Ohio; Mobile County, Ala.; and Collier County, Fla.