CoreLogic®, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its latest Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI), which analyzes single-family rent price changes nationally and across major metropolitan areas. The report highlights the slowing growth in key rental metros which all experienced population spikes during the pandemic.
Annual U.S. rent growth registered a 2% increase in September, continuing a slowing trend that began in early 2024 but is well below the average annual rent growth of 3.5% that occurred in the decade prior to the pandemic. High-end price growth (2.6%) slightly outstripped low-end gains, a sign that some renters are leveraging advantageous economic conditions to upgrade – including wages that are up buy 40% since last September.
“Single-family annual rent growth slowed in September to the lowest rate in over four years, and monthly rent growth posted a second month of below-seasonal trend growth, making it clear that single-family rent growth is decelerating,” said CoreLogic principal economist Molly Boesel. “While about one-third of metros showed stronger rent growth than in the previous year, more metros showed decreases in rents than in the prior report. While a slowing in rents will be welcome news to renters, increases since 2020 are still at 32%.”
Of the top 20 CBSA that CoreLogic tracks, two posted gains of 5% or greater, and seven metro areas had median rents above $3,000.
Of the 20 metros shown in Table 1, Detroit posted the highest year-over-year increase in single-family rents in September 2024, at 5.2%, followed by Seattle (5%). Austin, Texas saw rents fall by -2.9% year over year, followed by San Diego (-0.7%). Metro Phoenix was unchanged, year-over-year, at 0.0%.
The next CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index is scheduled to be released on December 19, 2024, featuring data for October 2024. For ongoing housing trends and data, visit the CoreLogic Intelligence Blog.
