Rent Prices Increase in February, Hitting a New Record High for the 11th Consecutive Month

On Tuesday (4-19-22), CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions provider, released its February Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI), which analyzes single-family rent price changes nationally and across major metropolitan areas.

The SFRI analyzes data across four price tiers: lower-priced, which represent rentals with prices 75% or below the regional median; lower-middle, 75% to 100% of the regional median; higher-middle, 100% to 125% of the regional median; and higher-priced, 125% or more above the regional median.

According to the SFRI, in February, U.S. rent prices marked their eleventh consecutive month of double-digit gains, rising 13.1% year-over-year, to hit another new record as the highest in the history of the index. Warmer areas of the country again posted the largest price hikes, with rents in Miami up 39.5% from February 2021.

A shortage of available rentals has contributed to the prolonged run-up in price growth, as has the low U.S. unemployment rate, which dropped to 3.8% in February. Also, robust home price increases, up 20% year over year in February, are likely contributing to more Americans renting rather than buying.

In remarks prepared to accompany the February SFRI, Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic, said, “Single-family rents rose at more than three times the rate from a year earlier and more than four times the pre-pandemic rate. Strong employment and low supply have pushed single-family rental vacancy rates to low levels and have contributed to the high growth in rents.”