From July 2024 to July 2025, the U.S. rental market revealed two distinct patterns between single-family rentals (SFRs) and multifamily housing (MFHs). Both categories posted modest year-over-year growth, but SFRs showed sharper seasonal swings, while MFHs remained comparatively stable.
Methodology
This report analyzes national rental trends in both the single-family rental (SFR) and multifamily housing (MFH) markets, focusing on three-bedroom homes for SFR and one-bedroom apartments for MFH. Drawing from the more than 16 million rentals that list on the Dwellsy.com Marketplace, the dataset represents real-time market behavior rather than projections or survey estimates. All data was vetted for accuracy and processed using a Gaussian filtering method to smooth outliers while preserving genuine market shifts. These insights are based entirely on observed listings, ensuring that the results reflect actual market activity as it occurs. For details on data preparation, quality controls, and analytical techniques, see the full methodology.
Year-over-Year
Comparing July 2024 with July 2025, single-family rentals rose from $1,959 to $1,995 (+1.8%), while multifamily units increased from $1,381 to $1,391 (+0.7%). Despite greater volatility, SFRs grew at over two times the pace of MFHs, which might suggest stronger upward momentum for SFRs, though overall growth in both categories remained subdued.
Month-to-Month
Single-family rents began at $1,959 in July 2024 and declined steadily through the fall and winter, reaching a low of $1,886 in December 2024. The market then shifted upward, with the most significant increase in May 2025, when rents jumped to $1,988. By June and July 2025, SFR rents had reached $1,995, holding flat at that level.
Multifamily rents followed a gentler curve. Starting at $1,381 in July 2024, they declined gradually to $1,347 in December 2024, before recovering in the spring to $1,400 in June 2025. By July 2025, MFH rents softened slightly to $1,391, showing smaller month-to-month changes overall.
Rent Gap Insights
In July 2024, the difference between SFR and MFH rents stood at $579. By July 2025, it had widened slightly to $604. As noted in our five-year analysis report, this gap is not a matter of one category being “premium,” but rather the natural result of comparing fundamentally different housing types: a three-bedroom house designed for larger households versus a one-bedroom apartment for smaller ones, which might reflect different household configurations and preferences.
Conclusion
The July 2025 rental data illustrates a national market of muted growth but diverging dynamics. Single-family rentals showed greater volatility and ended the year stronger, while multifamily rents were steadier with minimal gains.
