An overabundance of new rental housing stock likely will slow down the rapid increase in rental rates over the next few months, experts say. "That will shift the balance over the next year to favor renters a bit more in contrast to the strong landlord market we've seen over the past five years," says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president for ATTOM Data.
Monthly rates for single-family rentals in 375 counties rose a collective 4.5 percent in the last year—but that's slower than the 5.7 percent growth in average wages for renters over the same time period, according to Burns Real Estate Consulting. "That is good news because over the past few years, rents and home prices have far outpaced wage growth," Blomquist says. He adds that it's unclear whether the economy and wage growth can continue to support the rate of increase in rents that has been prevalent in recent years.
"We do see several bellwether markets where rents were basically flat or even fell on average, such as the Inland Empire of Southern California and Orlando, Fla.," Blomquist notes. "Rents fell 1 percent over the last year in Las Vegas."
Source: “Single-Family Rents Remain Strong – For Now,” National Real Estate Investor (May 22, 2017)
