The average renter thinks there is a three-in-five chance they will still be in the rental market in 2027, according to the New York Federal Reserve’s recently released 2024 SCE Housing Survey. Compared to last year, the probability of the average renter not becoming a homeowner in the next three years was up 4.3 percentage points, reaching its highest mark since the study began in 2015.

Even as rents retreated elsewhere, single-family rentals (SFR) have continued to outperform all other housing sub-types, exceeding the all-property type national average in 17 consecutive months through February 2024, according to Zillow’s Observed Rent Index (ZORI). Annual SFR rent growth has seen substantial gains in many metropolitan areas since national rent growth peaked in March 2022. In this deep dive, the Chandan Economics and Arbor Realty Trust research teams pinpoint the metropolitan areas where SFR rents are rising the fastest.

Lifestyle renters — those who have the means to own but prefer to rent or are willing to pay more for apartments with amenities — have become a key driver of rental demand in single-family rental homes, build-to-rent communities, and other types of high-quality multifamily housing. With this small yet influential demographic growing, our research teams examine and explain the factors driving lifestyle renter demand.

In a year when inflation and elevated interest rates weakened affordability, the rental housing sector strengthened and expanded. An analysis of newly released U.S. Census Bureau Housing Vacancies and Homeownership data shows the number of rental households climbed in 2023.

Over the last decade, single-family rental (SFR) operators have been increasingly focusing on build-to-rent (BTR) development as the needs and preferences of renters have shifted. As explored in the latest Arbor Single-Family Rental Investment Trends Report, SFR/BTR development has surged at a time when new, for-sale, single-family home starts have declined.

When people think of tech hubs, they often imagine a familiar mix of standards such as Silicon Valley, Boston, and New York, or recent-growth markets like Austin and Miami. However, Northern Virginia is quickly becoming a bona fide technology hub in its own right.

As borrowing costs rose and rent growth slowed, multifamily developers pulled back the reins in 2023. Nationally, the number of multifamily building permits sank 20.3% last year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. However, there are many metropolitan markets where activity has not slowed. In this deep dive, our research teams show which metros led the nation in multifamily permitting activity in 2023.

Driven by investor confidence in multifamily housing’s long-term fundamentals, the volume of debt outstanding in the sector has grown by nearly 150% since the end of the Great Recession. As this piece will detail, where investment dollars have flowed, housing demand has followed. Through an analysis of newly released U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data, our research teams pinpoint the growing size and scope of the largest rental housing property type.

Even as the single-family rental (SFR) sector has attracted increased investor activity, the total number of SFR households has moderated due to the influence of overarching housing trends.

Miami — a market with an attractive climate, urban amenities, and quality transportation options — has seen intense post-pandemic population growth. While its resurgence has been celebrated by many, Miami’s success has come at the cost of weakening rental affordability in the city.