For eighteen months, every single-family rental operator from Phoenix to Charlotte was saying the same thing: "we'll raise rents next quarter." Then next quarter. Then the one after. Well, friends, the quarter just arrived, and the data is finally on your side. Grab your drink of choice.

Story: A new report found that single-family rental (SFR) rents are now rising across every one of the nation's 50 largest metros, ending an 18-month stretch of regional softness. The shift coincides with three converging forces: May housing starts collapsing 15.4% to a six-year low, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passing both chambers of Congress on June 22-23, and institutional capital reawakening into Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) acquisitions after months of paralysis.

So What? SFR pricing power is back, and it is national, not regional. Operators in Sun Belt metros that have eaten 18 months of flat-to-negative renewals can finally lift rents without renewal risk because comparable rentals are also moving up. Mom-and-pop landlords have a cleaner data tailwind than they have had since 2022. The contrast with multifamily could not be sharper: Yardi Matrix shows apartment occupancy at the lowest level since 2013 (94.1%) with 18 of the top 30 metros still in negative year-over-year rent territory.

What’s Next? Watch July and August renewals, which are the heaviest leasing months of the year, and watch institutional acquisition pace. Invitation Homes (INVH) and American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) have signaled increased buying appetite. Capital markets activity and REIT acquisition volumes are the leading indicators, while the ROAD Act's 350-home cap kicks in 180 days after enactment, giving small and mid-sized SFR operators a structural window to acquire before the dust settles.

Source: Arbor

Don’t Trust Zillow To Price Your Rental (Do This Instead)

Pricing your rental wrong can cost you thousands in lost rent or vacancy. In this video, Matthew Whitaker breaks down how to price your rental property using real comps, market data, the speed vs. rent trade-off, and the seasonal patterns most first-time landlords miss.

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1️⃣ Housing: New single-family home sales plunged 7.3% in May to a 580,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, the lowest in four months, with the supply of unsold new homes reaching 10.3 months, the highest level since 2009. 🪺 More

2️⃣ Rentals/BTR/Investors: Chandan Economics' Independent Landlord Rental Performance Report shows on-time rent payments came in at 83.8% in June, little changed from May's 83.9%, suggesting the recent recovery in rent collection performance may be losing momentum. 🪺 More

3️⃣ Mortgages: The Freddie Mac 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.49% the week ending June 25, holding steady despite easing Middle East tensions, as the May Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation reading hit a three-year high of 4.1%. 🪺 More

4️⃣ Interesting Trends: Zillow Home Value Index rose 0.3% month-over-month in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, the fastest growth rate since January, while closed U.S. home sales hit their highest level since 2022. 🪺 More

5️⃣ Policy Changes: Both chambers of Congress passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (Senate 85-5, House 358-32) sending the most comprehensive housing bill in 30 years to President Trump's desk, with Title X banning investment firms owning 350+ single-family homes from buying more. 🪺 More

How Many Rental Properties Do You Actually Need to Retire?

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