S. Fla. Ranks High for Single-Family Rental Returns

Attom ranked four Fla. counties near the top as strong markets for 2023 single-family investments: Palm Beach, Indian River, Collier and Charlotte counties.

IRVINE, Calif. – Attom’s Q1 2023 Single-Family Rental Market report, which ranks the best U.S. markets for buying single-family rental properties in 2023, listed four Florida counties near the top as rental-return opportunities for single-family investors.

The report analyzed single-family rental returns in 212 U.S. counties with a population of at least 100,000 if it had sufficient rental and home price data. The analysis looked at median rents on three-bedroom properties and median single-family home prices collected from Attom’s property database, as well as publicly recorded sales deed data licensed by Attom.

Nationwide, the average annual gross rental yield on three-bedroom properties, (annualized gross rent income divided by purchase price) among the 212 counties analyzed is projected to be 7.5% in 2023. That’s up from an average 6.7% in 2022 in those same markets, and it marked the first time since at least 2019 that the figure rose across the country.

The single-family rental yield is increasing from 2022 to 2023 in 91% of those counties after declining in 72% of them from 2021 to 2022.

With rental yields on the rise, rents are increasing faster than home prices across most of the country. From 2022 to 2023, three-bedroom rents rose more than single-family home prices in 192, or 91%, of the markets analyzed. Rents commonly have risen by around 5% to 20% over the past year, while changes in home values have typically ranged from a 5% loss to a 5% gain.

“The broader housing market didn’t fare nearly as well in 2022 as it did in 2021,” says Rob Barber, chief executive officer at Attom. “Prices finally hit the wall, at least temporarily. But that appears to be benefitting the growing number of investors around the U.S. who rent out single-family properties. Rents for single-family homes are growing while prices have flattened out, which has helped boost yields for landlords for the first time in at least several years.”