US Single-Family Rent Index—March 2025
Key takeaways from a recent Cotality report.
Single-family rent prices increased 2.4 percent year over year in January 2025, up from the previous
month’s 2.1 percent. This is down from January 2024, when rent prices grew 2.6 percent. Prior to 2020, single-family rent growth increased in the range of 2-4 percent for nearly a decade and averaged 3.5 percent.
The monthly growth rate for January was 0.4 percent, which was above the average of 0.1 percent for January from 2004-2019, marking the first month since mid-2024 that monthly growth has been above the seasonal trend. After a period of slowing annual growth, single-family rent increases are firming up. Annual single-family rent growth in January ticked up from what may have been the cycle low point in December.
Furthermore, January’s monthly increase was above what is typically recorded in the winter
months, and it was the first above-trend monthly increase since mid-2024. This uptick signals
renewed pressure on renters, potentially exacerbating the housing affordability crisis.
Sector-specific rent growth
Rent prices for high-end properties increased 3.2 percent year over year in January, a gain from the 2.5 percent growth seen at the same time last year. In contrast, low-end rent prices increased 1.9 percent year over year in January, a slowdown from the gain of 2.8 percent seen in January 2024.
Rent growth across property types ticked up in January 2025, with detached rentals experiencing
a growth of 2.3 percent and attached rentals growing 2.6 percent.
Washington, D.C., posted the highest year-over-year increase in single-family rents in January
2025 at 6.4 percent. Chicago followed closely behind at 6 percent growth. Dallas continued to have the
lowest growth at just 0.3 percent in January 2025, followed by Miami at 1.4 percent and Atlanta at 1.5 percent.
While Washington, DC, and Chicago had the highest growth in January, the Florida markets saw the
highest growth since 2020. Single-family rent in Miami is up 52 percent, while Washington, DC grew 30 percent and Chicago grew 25 percent.
—Posted on March 31, 2025
