Rents Are Rising 4 Times Faster Than They Did in 2020

Imagine paying $1500/month for rent in 2021 and getting a renewal letter for $2079.  That's the reality for those living in the metropolitan area where rental prices are accelerating the fastest according to the Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI) released today month by CoreLogic.

While the 38.6% seen in Miami was by far the highest annual change, other metros were nonetheless well above 2020's levels.  In fact, rental prices are now appreciating more than 4 times faster compared to 2020's average (12.6% vs 2.6% in 2020).

Keep in mind that the "4 times faster" comparison is a bit misleading because we're taking the very hottest month and comparing it to an average of 12 months.  If we instead simply use the latest month of 2020 as a baseline, the thesis becomes something more like "rental price appreciation remains in double digit territory."  Specifically, December's year-over-year change was 12.0% compared to January's 12.6%. 

One notable shift over the past several months has been the ability of the "attached" home sector (condos/townhomes) to match the pace of the detached single family residence. 

Rent price appreciation has been broad-based as well, with both low and mid tier homes at 12% and 12.2% respectively.  Not pictured in the chart above, middle-priced tiers led the charge with both "lower-middle" (75%-100% of regional median) and "higher-middle" (100%-125% of regional median) coming in at 13.3% and 13.4% respectively.

CoreLogic will release additional data and charts for this report on April 19, 2022.