Rental Demand Soars as Mortgage Rates Continue to Rise

SOMERVILLE, Mass., Nov. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Rental Beast, the rental data and software solution provider exclusively recommended by the National Association of REALTORS^®, released reports indicating increased rental demand, including significant year-over-year increases in rental searches conducted by real estate sales professionals. Rental searches conducted by licensed real estate agents and REALTORS^® last quarter nearly doubled in six out of ten U.S. rental markets¹.

Miami, Florida saw the sharpest increase (215%), followed by Denver, CO (211%), and Houston, TX (121%)¹:

Rental Beast measures the volume of searches executed by real estate professionals within its platform ecosystem. The metric provides a reliable and early indicator of rental demand as well as the industry’s affinity for monetizing an estimated $12 billion in annual leasing commissions.

Last quarter’s increase in rental inquiries is largely driven by potential buyers sidelined by affordability. With mortgage rates at their highest levels since 2002, and alongside high home prices and a shortage of properties for sale, millions of would-be home buyers nationwide have been priced out of the home sales market.

“Persistent inflation has proven quite harmful to the housing market,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “The Federal Reserve has had to drastically raise interest rates to quell inflation, which has resulted in far fewer buyers and even fewer sellers.”²

Would-be buyers remaining in rentals are shifting norms within the rental market as well. Household incomes among new lease signers were up nearly 13%, year over year, through August, and rent collections improved as well, at 95.4%, up from 94.9% the year before³.

“The housing market is in transition, with today’s renters looking more and more like home buyers. REALTORS^® across the nation are taking notice,” says Ishay Grinberg, Rental Beast founder and CEO. “Now - more than ever - rentals matter to real estate sales professionals, as REALTORS^® are increasingly turning to the rental market to future-proof their businesses.”

Over the past twelve months, Rental Beast announced partnerships with major multiple listing services throughout the United States, providing its lead-to-lease-to-buy platform and rental inventory through a secure integration designed to expand access to rentals.

Rental Beast also launched the California Rental Listing Service, the first state-wide rental listing service in the nation. Developed in partnership with the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^®, the Service has seen faster than expected adoption and utilization of the platform. While barely a month old, nearly 10,000 C.A.R. members have pre-registered or claimed accounts, with thousands of C.A.R. members adding or claiming rental units within the Service. “We’re thrilled—and we see C.A.R. member engagement as a validation of Rental Beast’s unique position as the industry’s source of truth for what REALTORS^® need most: access to rental inventory,” noted Grinberg.

Earlier this year, Rental Beast also launched a strategic partnership with the National Association of REALTORS^® (NAR), offering FCRA-compliant rental application and tenant screening services, as well as rental education to NAR’s 1.6 million members.

Grinberg characterizes the recent, industry-wide focus on rentals as both timely and long overdue.

“Closing rental transactions has been and remains a potent source of income for newly licensed sales professionals, but it’s interesting to note the bulk of our platform growth is driven by REALTORS^® with more than 8 years’ experience in the industry.”

“2023, is likely to be a transformative year for REALTORS^®,” says Grinberg. “And while we may be challenged by short-term volatility in the sales market, the industry will adjust and embrace a new norm; and REALTORS working with renters and investors today will have an ever-ready pipeline of future home buyers in hand.”

¹Source: Rental Beast database of more than 11 million owner-sourced rental listings

²Source: Copyright ©2022 “Pending Home Sales Waned 10.2% in September” National Association of REALTORS^®. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. October 28^th, 2022, https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/pending-home-sales-waned-10-2-in-september

³Source: RealPage, October 4^th, 2022

About Rental Beast
Rental Beast is a leading real estate technology firm with an end-to-end SaaS platform designed to empower real estate professionals and the nation's most comprehensive database of more than ten million rental properties. Sourced directly from property owners, updated in real-time, and offering a fulfillment-grade rental dataset, the Rental Beast database provides real estate professionals with an unparalleled view of all properties and owner types.

Utilizing a seamless and secure integration, participating MLSs and REALTOR^® Associations can capture thousands of properties that are normally off-MLS inventory, and leverage essential search, data ingestion, and maintenance systems needed to help member agents and subscribers capture their share of $12 billion in annual leasing commissions.

Rental Beast is a proud member of the NAR’s REALTOR Benefits^® Program, an is NAR’s exclusive recommended rental software provider. Rental Beast is also recognized and supported by Second Century Ventures, NAR’s capital and strategic growth arm, and is a proud member of the REACH-Canada accelerator program. Learn more at rentalbeast.com/MLS.

Media Contact:
For Rental Beast: Michael Carlson (512) 589-1998 or michael.carlson@rentalbeast.com