- Cotality’s Single-Family Rent Index rose 2.0% year over year in August 2026, the sixth straight month of faster annual growth, and the first return to its long-run range since August 2025.
- Chicago led major metros at 4.9%, ahead of Philadelphia at 3.9%, New York-Jersey City at 3.7% and Detroit at 3.3%, while Houston slowed to 0.6%.
- High-end rents rose 2.8% versus 0.8% for low-end rentals, and only two markets posted annual declines, the fewest since September 2023.
U.S. single-family rents climbed 2.0% from a year earlier in August, Cotality’s Single-Family Rent Index shows, extending a run of faster annual growth to six straight months.
That trails last year’s 2.1% gain by a hair, but it puts growth back inside the index’s long-run range, a first since August 2025.
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Normalization, Not a Surge
Cotality senior principal economist Molly Boesel said the market is normalizing and growth is spreading more evenly across the country. Only two metros posted annual declines, the fewest since September 2023.
Detached homes gained 2.1% and attached homes 1.9%.
The Midwest Leads
Chicago rose 4.9%, keeping the Midwest in front, as it has been since March 2025. Philadelphia followed at 3.9%, New York-Jersey City at 3.7% and Detroit at 3.3%.
The South lagged. Houston slowed to 0.6%, Washington, D.C., rose 0.9% and Dallas 1.2%. The only two declines came in Florida, in Cape Coral-Fort Myers and North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota.
A Split by Price Tier
Higher-priced rentals gained 2.8% year over year, while lower-priced homes edged up only 0.8%. Cotality defines the bottom tier as rents at 75% or less of the regional median.
The spread shows where pricing power sits. Operators with higher-end product are pushing rents, while budget-tier tenants remain constrained.
Why It Matters
Steady growth near 2% supports underwriting for single-family rental owners and build-to-rent investors without the spikes that drew scrutiny in earlier years. Midwest and Northeast strength also favors operators with exposure beyond the Sun Belt.
Demand is part of the story. Zillow data covered by CRE Daily showed rental demand up 19.2% as buyers turned to renting, and accidental landlords are adding supply in Houston.
What’s Next
Cotality will publish its September index on Nov. 19, 2026. Watch whether Sun Belt markets such as Houston and Dallas stabilize, and whether the gap between high-end and low-end rents keeps widening.
