10 Best Places for Build-To-Rent Construction in the US — and How Rent Prices Might Be Affected
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Levi Leidy
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A rise in build-to-rent construction could mean good news for renters in certain large U.S. cities, even as rental rates nationwide continue to creep higher.
The build-to-rent (BTR) sector reached a new all-time high in 2024, according to a new study from Point2Homes. In this case, “BTR” refers to single-family homes that are developed specifically for rental customers and are often built by real estate companies rather than individuals.
About 39,000 new single-family rentals hit the U.S. market in 2024, Point2Homes noted, citing data from Yardi Matrix. That was up 15.5% from 2023 and represented a massive increase from the 6,000 to 7,000 new units per year that came online in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BTR sector should continue to see rapid expansion thanks to the nearly 110,000 single-family homes for rent that are currently in different stages of development nationwide, according to Point2Homes.
Much of the action is taking place in Sun Belt markets. These are the 10 best places for BTR construction, based on the number of 2024 completions:
| City | Build-To-Rent Units Completed in 2024 |
| Phoenix, Arizona | 4,460 |
| Dallas, Texas | 3,197 |
| Atlanta, Georgia | 3,035 |
| Houston, Texas | 2,505 |
| Charlotte, North Carolina | 1,415 |
| Jacksonville, Florida | 1,201 |
| Huntsville, Alabama | 1,098 |
| Columbus, Ohio | 1,018 |
| Tampa, Florida | 1,005 |
| Minneapolis, Minnesota | 926 |
These were the top five states in build-to-rent completions:
- Texas: 6,994 units completed in 2024
- Florida: 5,379 units
- Arizona: 4,812 units
- Georgia: 4,095 units
- North Carolina: 2,826 units
So how will all this new inventory affect rental rates? That’s hard to predict.
“Usually, a boost in rental housing supply is very good news for renters: Not only do they have more options to choose from, but they might also witness rent cooling off a bit,” Andra Hopulele, author of the Point2Homes study, said in email comments shared with GOBankingRates.
More deliveries “usually dampen rent growth,” she added. But that’s not always the case.
“While record levels of BTR construction have helped slow rent growth in certain areas, development hasn’t yet reached the scale needed to fully meet demand,” Hopulele said. “In many metro areas, rents are still rising — driven largely by the continued surge in demand for rental housing.”
Indeed, recent data from iPropertyManagement.com shows that so far in 2025, the nation’s average monthly rent is up 7.52% from last year. Here are the average annual U.S. rent increases since the beginning of the decade:
- 2024: 5.11%
- 2023: 7.95%
- 2022: 6.03%
- 2021: 6.76%
- 2020: 3.12%
At the same time, rents in some markets have been heading lower of late — including some of the cities on Point2Homes’ list of busiest BTR markets.
For example, the average rent in Phoenix for all bedrooms and property types was $1,850 a month as of April 21, 2025, according to Zillow. That represents a decline of $135 from the previous month and $218 from the previous year.
Similar declines have been reported in Dallas, Atlanta, Houston and Charlotte.
More From GOBankingRates
Sources
- Point2Homes, “Build-to-Rent Sector Reaches Historic High With 39,000 New Single-Family Rental Completions & 110,000 More Underway.”
- Andra Hopulele, author of the Point2Homes study
- Additional rent data from Zillow and iPropertyManagement
