The number of single-family homes built-for-rent increased over the last four quarters, reports NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.
During this time period, construction starts of this type of housing totaled 43,000 homes, compared to 33,000 for the prior four quarters. According to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, the market share of single-family homes built-for-rent, as measured on a one-year moving average, stood at 4.8% of single-family starts as of the third quarter of 2018.
Given the small size of the market segment, the quarter-to-quarter movements are not typically statistically significant. The current market share remains higher than the recent historical average of 2.7% (1992-2012) but is down from the 5.8% reading registered at the start of 2013. This class of single-family construction excludes homes that are sold to another party for rental purposes. It only includes homes built and held for rental purposes.
Of course, the built-for-rent share of single-family homes is considerably smaller than the single-family home portion of the rental housing stock, which is 35% according to the 2015 American Community Survey.
Read More
