Amid ongoing affordability concerns in the housing market, the single-family build-to-rent (BTR) sector continues to expand, according to NAHB analysis of Census Bureau data. The 13,000 single-family SFBFR starts during the first quarter of 2022 represents a 62.5% increase compared to the first quarter of 2021.

Over the last four quarters, 57,000 such homes began construction, which is a 32.6% gain compared to the 43,000 estimated SFBFR starts in the prior four quarters. Given the relatively 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 (5.1%) is higher than the historical average of 2.7% (1992-2012) and near a three-year high.

Importantly, as measured for this analysis, the estimates noted above only include homes built and held by the builder for rental purposes. The estimates exclude homes that are sold to another party for rental purposes, which NAHB estimates may represent another three to four percent of single-family starts. Indeed, the Census data notes an elevated share of single-family homes built as condos (non-fee simple) in the first quarter, with this share standing at 4.8%.