Single-Family Rentals Outpace Apartment Rentals in 22 of 30 Largest US Cities

Single-family rentals have been the fastest growing segment of housing over the past 10 years, outpacing apartment rentals. This rise in linear living, caused by the inability to attain homeownership for many of today's residents after the housing market crash, has been more drastic in some markets than others.

RENTCafé recently studied 30 of the nation's largest cities to determine which markets saw the most growth in single-family rentals. Overall, the number of single-family rentals in the U.S. grew by 31% (3.6 million units) from 2007 to 2016, while multifamily rentals grew by 14% (3.2 million units).

Phoenix tops the list with the biggest percentage increase in single-family rentals, jumping by 77% (from 56,900 in 2007 to 100,800 in 2016), compared with only a 21% increase in the city's multifamily units.

Phoenix was followed by Boston, with a 63% increase in single-family rental homes versus a 20% increase in apartments.

The third-fastest-growing city for single-family rentals was Fort Worth, Texas, with 60%, compared with a 17% increase in apartments. Rounding out the top five are Austin, Texas, and Charlotte, N.C., each with a 55% increase.

Take a closer look at all the cities with a rapidly growing single-family rental market here:

According to Census data, the five largest stocks of single-family rentals in a city are in Los Angeles (184,000), Philadelphia (111,600), Houston (102,100), Phoenix (100,800), and New York (94,000).

Single-family rentals are more common in suburban areas, with 70% located outside the boundaries of the largest principal city of a metropolitan area. Smaller metros have the largest share of single-family rental homes when it comes to housing type.

The Oklahoma City metro area has the largest share of single-family rentals in the country, with almost half (48%) of its rental stock made up of single-family homes. Oklahoma City is followed by Memphis, Tenn., with 45% of its total rentals comprising single-family homes, followed by Detroit, with 44%.

Large metros favor apartment rentals. The New York City–Newark–Jersey City metro has the smallest share of single-family rental homes, as apartments make up 89% of the MSA's total rental units, followed by Boston, with 86%, and Chicago, with 76%.