How SFR Returns Are Dipping Across the US
Which regions are seeing the steepest declines?
Rental yields for single-family houses are slipping in about half the country, according to a new report, even as monthly rents are outpacing house prices in half the U.S. as well.
The study by ATTOM, a provider of property data and analytics, covered 416 counties where there is sufficient data to dissect. And it found that yields are declining in 187 of the 341 counties with sufficient data to analyze for both years.
The decline in profitability comes despite rent increases outstripping home price increases. In 229 of the 416 counties with sufficient rent and price data to analyze, median rents rose at a greater rate than median sales prices between 2025 and 2026.
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With last year going down as an “historic one” for house values—the median sales prices of $350,000 was a record—landlords are having a tougher time, too, the report noted. Like buyers, they are facing higher up-front costs to acquire properties “then they ever have before.”
At the same time, though, higher house prices are forcing many tenants to continue renting, even at higher monthly rates, because they can’t afford to become owners.
“Many landlords have been able to offset higher acquisition costs with rent growth, but returns are tightening in a majority of counties,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber commented.
Barber said that going forward, investors will need to sharpen their pencils, “focusing on markets where rent growth and affordability trends continue to support strong returns.”
Right now, Midwestern counties top ATTOM’s annual rental return projections
Those with the highest potential yields for three-bedroom apartments are Saint Clair County, Ill, with a 14.5 percent yield; Mobile County, Ala., 13.6 percent; Peoria County, Ill., 12.5 percent; Saint Louis County, Minn., 11.6 percent, and Trumbull County, Ohio, 11.5 percent.
Among counties with populations over 1 million, the highest potential rental yields were in Suffolk County, N.Y., 10.8 percent; Cook County, Ill., 9.8 percent; Cuyahoga County, Ohio, 9.5 percent; Harris County, Tex., 8 percent and Oakland County, Mich., 7.8 percent.
The counties with the largest declines in potential yields were Atlantic County, N.J., down from 17.5 percent in 2025 to 8.5 percent in 2026; Suffolk County, N.Y. down from 17.7 percent to 10.8 percent, and Indian River County, Fla., down from 11.9 percent to 7.9 percent.
In addition to Suffolk County, the largest rental yield declines among counties with populations of more than 1 million were in Riverside County, Calif., down from 8.7 percent to 6.8 percent; Fulton County, Ga., down from 5.2 percent to 4.7 percent; Oakland County, Mich., down from 8.3 percent to 7.8 percent, and Tarrant County, Tex., down from 7.8 percent to 7.3 percent.
Among the largest counties, the largest increases in potential rental yields were in Alameda County, Calif., up from 3.8 percent to 4.5 percent; Cook County, Ill., up from 9.2 percent to 9.8 percent; Hillsborough County, Fla., up from 6.8 percent to 7.2 percent; Sacramento County, Calif., up from 5.7 percent to 6.1 percent and Fresno County, Calif., up from 6.5 percent to 6.9 percent.
The study also found that wages are rising faster than both rent and home prices in majority of counties, and that earnings increased at a greater rate than three-bedrooms rents in 262 counties.
The largest jurisdictions where that occurred were Los Angeles County, Harris County (Tex.), Maricopa County (Ariz.) San Diego County (Calif.) and Orange County (Calif.),
