The number of single-family homes-built-to-rent declined year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2019, down to approximately 7,000 starts from an estimated 10,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018. According to an NAHB analysis of Census Bureau data, 38,000 single family homes built to rent have started construction over the last four quarters – lower than the 43,000 estimated single family built to rent home starts over the prior four quarters.
Given the small size of this market segment, the quarter-to-quarter movements typically are not statistically significant. The current four-quarter moving average of market share (4.2%) remains higher than the recent historical average of 2.7% (1992-2012) but is down from the 5.8% reading registered at the start of 2013.
…Despite the current elevated market concentration, the total number of single-family starts built-for-rent remains small in terms of the total size of the building market. Moreover, the built-for-rent pipeline of single-family homes is considerably smaller than the single-family home portion of the rental housing stock, which is 35% according to the 2017 American Community Survey.
