The Most Successful Year for Build To Rent Housing

The build-to-rent (BTR) sector reached an all-time high in 2023, with nearly 27,500 homes completed. According to a new report from RentCafe, this was 75% more than in 2022 and triple the number in 2021.

This momentum hasn’t slowed down for 2024, with over 45,400 BTR homes under construction. The bulk of these homes are expected to come online in 2025, and a moderation in the pace of deliveries is projected for the years to follow.

“New homes built for the purpose of renting are having a resounding moment, rising high on the shoulders of hybrid work and millennials who are reaching their prime nesting years, but who are also finding home buying challenging,” noted RentCafe. “Combine renter demand with interest from institutional investors and well-established builders, and it’s safe to say we’re witnessing this niche at its historical peak.”

Here are 10 takeaways from the RentCafe report:

Phoenix was the No. 1 metro for BTR development last year. In 2023, 4,030 single-family rentals opened in the metro, up 164% from 2022;
Rounding out the top five metro areas with the most BTR homes opening their doors in 2023 were Dallas, with 2,694 units; Atlanta, with 1,981 units; Austin, Texas, with 840 units; and Charlotte, North Carolina, with 714 units;
The BTR boom isn’t just happening in the Sun Belt. Kansas City, Missouri, and Columbus, Ohio, ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, on RentCafe’s list for 2023 completions;
The five states with the most BTR activity in 2023 were Texas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina;
Approximately 68,000 single-family homes for rent were built between 2019 and 2023;
When it comes to the metros with the largest number of new single-family rentals built in the last five years, Phoenix topped the list with over 9,300 units;
Texas also ranked high on RentCafe’s top 20 metros with the largest number of new single-family rentals over the past five years, with Dallas coming in at No. 2, Houston at No. 4, Austin at No. 7, and San Antonio at No. 9;
Thirty-two metros have had their entire BTR supply completed in the last five years. One emerging market highlighted by RentCafe is North Port, Florida, with 749 single-family rental homes built between 2019 and 2023 as well as 994 homes under construction;
The top five metros with the largest amount of units under construction—Phoenix; Dallas; Houston; Huntsville, Alabama; and Charlotte—account for half of the nearly 45,500 homes underway in 2024; and

Florida has four metros in RentCafe’s top 20 for BTR homes under construction—Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, and North Port.

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