Over the last decade, the population in cities has been growing, as more people want the lifestyle, economic opportunities, and amenities available in these urban areas. This has led to an increase in multi-family housing rather than single-family rentals since affordable housing for single families in these areas is hard to find. This has led to the majority of renters in urban areas living in single-family housing; it is mostly homeowners in those units.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this trend, and we have seen a surge in the demand for single-family rentals because the highly populated multi-family rentals make it difficult to practice social distancing. The smaller apartments are also much less appealing when your entire household is working or attending school from home. As a result, the vacancy rates in multi-family units have gone up significantly in the last year, while the rate for single-family rentals has gone down. Let’s take a look at which areas in the United States have the most single-family rentals, based on data from the US Census Bureau.
Small Metro Areas
When looking at the most single-family rentals in smaller metro areas, the top five are:
- Merced, CA
- Hilo, HI
- Bend, OR
- Lima, OH
- Beckley, WV
All five of these cities have over 50 percent of rentals in single-family units.
Mid Sized Metro Areas
The top five mid size metro areas in the United States are:
- Modesto, CA
- Visalia, CA
- Stockton, CA
- Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
- Springfield, MO
All five of these cities have over 50 percent of rentals in single-family units.
Large Metro Areas
The top five major cities in the United States with the most single-family housing are:
- Memphis, TN-MS-AR
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA
- Kansas City, MO-KS
These cities do not have as much single-family housing as the small and mid-sized metro areas, with less than 50 percent of renters in single-family homes. Still, these are urban areas where development lean more toward apartments than single-family homes to begin with. The largest population of renters in single-family housing is 48 percent, which is still a high rate, especially when compared to some other urban areas like New York City, which only has ten percent of renters in single-family homes.
Fewest Single-Family Rentals
The preference for single-family rentals will be a strain for some areas, especially in the Northeast, where cities are densely packed. New York and Massachusetts have the lowest rates of renters in single-family homes since New York City and Boston were both laid out to have a high population and dense multi-family housing.
Tenant Screening
As a property manager, you want to ensure that your tenants in any single-family or multi-family property you own are the best possible. ACUTRAQ offers a wide variety of screening options for any landlord to help you find the perfect tenant who will pay on time and not cause extensive damage to the property which can be very costly. Evictions can take time and are very expensive. If you only rent out this single-family home, you are losing out on that income. Contact ACUTRAQ today to learn more about our tenant screening options.
