Quarterly rental statistics show rental rates are rising more rapidly than the U.S. inflation rates. This is wonderful for real estate investors.
During the second quarter of 2015, the companies found that the average monthly rent for single-family homes now exceeds $1,320, up 3.3 percent since just last quarter and representing a 6.1 percent year-over-year increase. In comparison, the consumer price index grew by .2%. The rental market data was limited to three-bedroom single-family homes in the U.S.
Rental rates were up in all 10 regions analyzed. The Pacific and Northeast regions saw double-digit increases in rental rates, with 11.8 percent and 11 percent year-over-year increases, respectively. The Mid-Atlantic and South-Atlantic regions showed the lowest increases with 3.1 percent and 5.2 percent increases, though the Mid-Atlantic has rental rates well above the national average, at $1,642.
Rental Rates and Year-over-Year Increases of 10 U.S. Regions through the Second Quarter 2015
REGION | Median 3 BR rent ($) | Y-o-Y Change in 3BR rent |
Pacific | 1579 | 11.8% |
Northeast | 1763 | 11.0% |
Southwest | 996 | 5.8% |
Southeast | 985 | 7.1% |
Texas | 1294 | 8.9% |
California | 1956 | 5.7% |
Mountain | 1245 | 5.8% |
Midwest | 1023 | 5.3% |
South-Atlantic | 1257 | 5.2% |
Mid-Atlantic | 1642 | 3.1% |
Rent increases have been accompanied by reductions in vacancy rates – the percentage of homes considered unoccupied across the U.S. The national rate fell to 5.46 percent through June, down .12 percent from a year ago. The Midwest region had the highest vacancy rate at 6.88 percent, while Texas was the lowest at 3.43 percent.
The report also analyzed the rental saturation rate across the country, showing that it continues to climb and is now at 25.4 percent, compared to 23.9 percent last year. Rental saturation is the estimated percentage of rented single-family homes as a share of all single-family homes.
Real Property Management Excellence has an ongoing strategic business relationship and relies on professional proprietary rental housing data to provide its landlord customers with accurate, current information about local rental properties and rental markets.
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