RealtyTrac Ranks Best U.S. Markets for Buying Residential Rental Properties

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 2, 2014) - RealtyTrac^® (www.realtytrac.com), the nation's leading source for comprehensive housing data, today released its Q3 2014 Residential Property Rental Report, which ranks the best markets for buying residential rental properties.

For the report, RealtyTrac analyzed median sales prices for residential properties and average fair market rents for three bedroom properties in 586 U.S. counties with a combined population of 218 million people -- 71 percent of the total U.S. population. Rental returns were calculated using annual gross rental yields: the average fair market rent of three-bedroom homes in each county, annualized, and divided by the median sales price of residential properties in the third quarter.

The 586-county analysis found that investors buying U.S. residential rental property in the third quarter of 2014 are getting an average annual return of 9.06 percent, down from an average annual return of 9.65 percent for the third quarter of 2013.

Median home prices in the 586 counties analyzed in the report increased more than 7 percent on average in the third quarter of 2014 compared to a year ago, while average fair market rents for three-bedroom homes increased an average of less than 1 percent.

In these counties on average 33 percent of the housing units were renter-occupied and 67 percent were owner-occupied. The average rental vacancy rates in these counties were 7.4 percent compared to a national average of 8.7 percent as of the end of 2012.

"The single family rental market is still strong, with returns averaging 9 percent in the 586 counties analyzed," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. "Even so, the market is softening, with those same 586 counties averaging a nearly 10 percent return a year ago.

"In the high-risk, high-yield markets, where unemployment and vacancy rates are higher than national averages, the average return was a whopping 19 percent, actually up from a year ago thanks to a strong increase in rental rates," Blomquist continued. "Home prices, meanwhile, were more volatile in the high-risk, high-yield markets, with three out of the 16 posting double-digit percentage decreases in median home prices from a year ago."

Top 10 markets for rental returns
Edgecombe County, N.C., in the Rocky Mount metro area had the highest annual gross rental yield among the 586 counties analyzed, 41.57 percent, followed by Clayton County, Ga., in the Atlanta metro area (26.88 percent annual gross rental yield), Duplin County, N.C., (24.40 percent annual gross rental yield), Howard County, Ind., in the Kokomo metro area (24.00 percent), and Putnam County, Fla., in the Palatka metro area.

The remainder of the top 10 markets included three other Florida counties (Columbia, Pasco and Hernando) along with another Atlanta-area county (Spalding) and Wayne County, Mich., in the Detroit metro area.

10 Markets with Highest Annual Gross Rental Yields
County		Metro Area		Q3 2014 Annual Gross Rental Yield		Fair Market Rent for 3-Bedroom		Median Home Price		Unemployment Rate		Rental Vacancy Rate
Edgecombe		Rocky Mount, NC		41.57%		$918		$26,500		11.5%		11.1%
Clayton		Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA		26.88%		$1,187		$53,000		9.6%		16.9%
Duplin				24.40%		$793		$39,000		7.6%		8.8%
Howard		Kokomo, IN		24.00%		$888		$44,400		6.5%		6.6%
Putnam		Palatka, FL		22.63%		$811		$43,000		8.8%		6.3%
Spalding		Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA		20.35%		$1,187		$70,000		9.4%		12.3%
Wayne		Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI		19.88%		$1,124		$67,837		11.0%		8.9%
Columbia		Lake City, FL		18.42%		$1,151		$75,000		6.8%		11.3%
Pasco		Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL		17.30%		$1,269		$88,000		7.6%		8.9%
Hernando		Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL		17.29%		$1,269		$88,050		8.4%		5.1%

10 markets with lowest rental returns
New York County, N.Y. (Manhattan) ranked lowest among the 586 counties with an annual gross rental yield of 2.40 percent, followed by San Francisco County (3.16 percent annual gross rental yield), Kings County, N.Y. (Brooklyn, 3.64 percent), Williamson County, Tenn., in the Nashville metro area (3.73 percent), and Marin County, Calif., also in the San Francisco metro area (3.75 percent).

The remainder of the bottom 10 markets for annual gross rental yield included three other Northern California counties (Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz), along with Westchester County in the New York City metro area and Eagle County, Colo., in the Edwards metro area.

10 Rental Markets with Lowest Annual Gross Rental Yields
County		Metro Area		Q3 2014 Annual Gross Rental Yield		Fair Market Rent for 3-Bedroom		Median Home Price		Unemployment Rate		Rental Vacancy Rate
New York		New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA		2.40%		$1,852		$925,000		6.4%		3.8%
San Francisco		San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA		3.16%		$2,657		$1,010,000		4.9%		2.8%
Kings		New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA		3.64%		$1,852		$610,000		8.5%		3.8%
Williamson		Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN		3.73%		$1,131		$363,950		5.7%		1.7%
Marin		San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA		3.75%		$2,657		$850,000		4.4%		3.9%
Westchester		New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA		3.80%		$1,853		$585,000		5.5%		6.9%
Eagle		Edwards, CO		3.80%		$1,545		$487,500		4.7%		10.3%
Santa Clara		San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA		3.88%		$2,325		$719,000		5.9%		2.9%
San Mateo		San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA		3.94%		$2,657		$810,000		4.7%		1.3%
Santa Cruz		Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA		4.12%		$2,058		$600,000		7.2%		2.7%

16 Safe Havens for Single Family Rentals
RealtyTrac identified 16 counties as safe havens for single family rental investing. In these counties the unemployment rate was below the national average of 6.2 percent in July and the rental vacancy rate was below the national average of 8.7 percent as of the end of 2012, but all these counties also had an annual gross rental yield of 10 percent or higher.

The top five safe haven markets were Clark County, Ohio in the Springfield metro area (14.17 percent annual gross rental yield), Pottawatomie County, Okla., in the Shawnee metro area (13.50 percent), Broward County, Fla., in the Miami metro area (12.99 percent), Creek County, Okla., in the Tulsa metro area (12.93 percent) and Belmont County, Ohio in the Wheeling, WV-OH metro area (12.05 percent).

Other metros with counties in the safe haven list include Auburn, N.Y., Chicago, Ill., Lima, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pa., Washington D.C., Albany, N.Y., Little Rock, Ark., Columbia S.C. and Elkhart, Ind.

Safe Haven Rental Markets
County		Metro Area		Q3 2014 Annual Gross Rental Yield		Fair Market Rent for 3-Bedroom		Median Home Price		Unemployment Rate		Rental Vacancy Rate
Clark		Springfield, OH		14.17%		$939		$79,500		5.8%		6.7%
Pottawatomie		Shawnee, OK		13.50%		$919		$81,683		4.7%		3.9%
Broward		Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL		12.99%		$1,797		$166,000		5.7%		8.4%
Creek		Tulsa, OK		12.93%		$1,002		$93,000		5.2%		6.4%
Belmont		Wheeling, WV-OH		12.05%		$788		$78,500		6.0%		0.7%
Cayuga		Auburn, NY		11.74%		$978		$100,000		5.8%		4.6%
De Kalb		Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI		11.52%		$1,242		$129,390		6.1%		5.3%
Allen		Lima, OH		11.19%		$816		$87,500		6.1%		5.6%
Westmoreland		Pittsburgh, PA		11.03%		$991		$107,777		5.8%		6.6%
Wayne				11.02%		$1,045		$113,750		5.1%		6.9%
Spotsylvania		Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV		10.40%		$1,966		$226,850		5.0%		5.7%
Schenectady		Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY		10.21%		$1,157		$136,000		5.8%		8.1%
Saline		Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR		10.16%		$1,033		$122,000		5.6%		4.2%
Lonoke		Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR		10.08%		$1,033		$123,000		5.6%		5.8%
Lexington		Columbia, SC		10.05%		$1,046		$124,875		5.1%		5.7%
Elkhart		Elkhart-Goshen, IN		10.04%		$961		$114,900		5.2%		7.0%

16 High-Risk, High-Yield Hotspots for Single Family Rentals
RealtyTrac identified 16 counties as high-risk, high-yield hot spots for single family rental investing. In these counties the unemployment rate was above the national average of 6.2 percent in July 2014 and the rental vacancy rate was above the national average of 8.7 percent as of the end of 2012, but all these counties had an annual gross rental yield of 14 percent or higher.

Topping the high risk, high yield hotspots were Edgecombe, N.C. in the Rocky Mount metro area (41.57 percent annual gross rental yield), Clayton and Spalding counties in the Atlanta metro area (26.88 percent and 20.35 percent), Duplin County, N.C. (24.40 percent) and Wayne County, Mich., in the Detroit metro area (19.88 percent).

Other metro areas with counties on the high risk, high yield list included Lake City, Fla., Tampa, Fla., Sebring, Fla., Baltimore Md., Syracuse, N.Y., Vineland, N.J., Lancaster, S.C., Hickory, N.C., Gaffney, S.C., Mobile, Ala., and Macon, Ga.

High Risk, High Yield Rental Markets
County		Metro Area		Q3 2014 Annual Gross Rental Yield		Fair Market Rent for 3-Bedroom		Median Home Price		Unemployment Rate		Rental Vacancy Rate
Edgecombe		Rocky Mount, NC		41.57%		$918		$26,500		11.5%		11.1%
Clayton		Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA		26.88%		$1,187		$53,000		9.6%		16.9%
Duplin				24.40%		$793		$39,000		7.6%		8.8%
Spalding		Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA		20.35%		$1,187		$70,000		9.4%		12.3%
Wayne		Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI		19.88%		$1,124		$67,837		11.0%		8.9%
Columbia		Lake City, FL		18.42%		$1,151		$75,000		6.8%		11.3%
Pasco		Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL		17.30%		$1,269		$88,000		7.6%		8.9%
Highlands		Sebring, FL		17.00%		$1,027		$72,500		8.5%		17.6%
Baltimore City		Baltimore-Towson, MD		16.00%		$1,599		$119,900		9.9%		8.9%
Oswego		Syracuse, NY		15.77%		$1,051		$80,000		7.7%		10.5%
Cumberland		Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ		15.57%		$1,375		$106,000		10.4%		10.3%
Lancaster		Lancaster, SC		15.31%		$893		$70,000		7.1%		17.6%
Burke		Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC		14.92%		$833		$67,000		7.5%		10.0%
Cherokee		Gaffney, SC		14.73%		$858		$69,900		7.2%		10.7%
Mobile		Mobile, AL		14.49%		$1,032		$85,460		8.7%		10.1%
Bibb		Macon, GA		14.23%		$1,008		$85,000		9.2%		13.1%

The rental market in Southern California continues to be strong
The Southern California rental market continues to offer rental investors strong returns. With the exception of Orange County, these counties saw an unemployment rate that was near the national average of 6.2 percent in July 2014 and the rental vacancy rate was well below the national average of 8.7 percent as of the end of 2012, and all of these counties had an annual gross rental yield of 5 percent or higher.

"We are seeing solid returns on single family rentals in the Southern California market backed with strong employment and low vacancy rates," said Chris Pollinger, senior vice president of sales at First Team Real Estate, covering the Southern California market.

Southern California
County		Metro Area		Q3 2014 Annual Gross Rental Yield		Fair Market Rent for 3-Bedroom		Median Home Price		Unemployment Rate		Rental Vacancy Rate
Orange		Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA		4.80%		$2,300		$575,000		5.7%		3.5%
Los Angeles		Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA		5.04%		$1,890		$450,000		8.7%		4.0%
Ventura		Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA		5.05%		$2,043		$485,000		7.0%		2.3%
San Diego		San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA		5.37%		$1,969		$440,000		6.6%		4.5%

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