Average rental rates on 3-bedroom properties increased 3 percent from a year ago across 285 counties analyzed by real estate data firm RealtyTrac, while average sales prices on 3-bedroom properties increased 4 percent across those same counties.Single-family rental investors should find more predictable, steady returns going forward as home price appreciation stabilizes and aligns more closely with trends in rental rates, according to a recent RealtyTrac report about the buy-to-rent market.
Potential buy-to-rent returns increased in 41 percent of the 285 counties analyzed thanks to rental rate growth outpacing home price growth in those counties.
The average potential annual gross rental yield was 8.94 percent for 3-bedroom residential properties purchased in the first five months of 2015, down slightly from 9.07 percent in the year-ago period, according to the data.
“Buying rentals continues to be a brilliant strategy that allows investors to hedge their bets in a real estate market shifting away from homeownership and toward a sharing economy,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.