US Single-Family Built-for-Rent Starts Flat in Q1
Flat Growth for Single-Family Built-for-Rent
According to the US Census Bureau’s latest Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design report, with analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), there were approximately 19,000 single-family built-for-rent (SFBFR) starts in Q1—little changed from 2024Q1.
Over the past four quarters, 84,000 SFBFR homes began construction, a 4% increase from the 81,000 starts recorded in the preceding four-quarter period.
NAHB notes that investor demand for both new and existing single-family homes has softened due to higher interest rates.
Given the relatively small size of the SFBFR segment, NAHB cautions that quarter-to-quarter fluctuations are typically not statistically significant. Still, the current four-quarter moving average market share of 8% is well above the 1992–2012 historical average of 2.7%.
Importantly, the estimates cited here reflect only homes built and retained by the builder for rental purposes. They do not include homes sold to other parties for rental use—an additional three to five percent of single-family starts, based on NAHB estimates/surveys.
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