September 2021 reported an increase in rent for single-family homes from 2.6% in 2020 to 10.2% in 2021. A market saturated with buyers and little homes to choose from, along with current job growth, is causing just as much demand for rent as to own.

93% of people surveyed believe owning a home is a good investment, but many are being forced to rent even with sky-high prices due to the current state of homebuying. Buyers feel like the competition is too fierce or that a market crash resembling the 2008 crisis is looming in the near future.

Even more so than apartment complexes, private rentals of single-family homes are being scouted as they provide more room for multiple roommates or a family. Millennials aging into marriage and adulthood that would like to buy a home, but don’t feel it is the right time, are settling for paying double the mortgage of a single-family home in order to wait out the market.

“Single-family rental vacancy rates remained near 25-year lows in the third quarter of 2021, pushing annual rent growth to double digits in September,” said Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic. “Rent growth should continue to be robust in the near term, especially as the labor market improves and the demand for larger homes continues.”

Some particular markets are heating up while others are cooling off. Miami, FL saw a 25.7% gain year-over-year with the highest median rent prices across the entire US. Phoenix, AZ, and Las Vegas, NV take the second and third spots at 19.8% and 15.9%.

“Austin, Texas, and San Diego rounded out the top five markets for rent growth.”

On the other hand, major metro cities such as Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and New York City are seeing lower rent growth, still 5% above mid-pandemic rates.