Of the 19.3 million rental properties in the United States, 85.6% are single-family rentals. By and large (70.2%), these properties are owned by individual investors. In fact, the smallest portion of rental properties are owned by real estate corporations and REITs – just 1.2%.

Insurance is one of society’s necessary evils. So many times, paying our premiums seems like a waste…until we have to make a claim, that is! Whether we like it or not, property insurance is an unavoidable expense in real estate investing. And with insurance premiums set to hit a record high in 2024, investors are feeling the cash flow squeeze.

Resident retention is the investor’s best avenue to reliable cash flow. Vacancies cost money – costs for lost rental income, preparing for the next resident, and marketing the property, to name a few! As a real estate investor, one of your top priorities – regardless of your strategy – is to keep good residents for the long haul.

But how do we do that? What do retention rates mean? How are they calculated? Keep reading to find out more!

How Retention Rates Work

We can talk about metrics all day, but they’re useless if we don’t understand how to calculate and interpret the data! Generally speaking, your rental property retention rate is calculated by dividing the number of residents (or renter households) that moved out during a twelve-month period by the total number of residents/households you had over that same period. Then, multiply that result by 100. 

In the real estate world, there’s almost always someone talking about a housing bubble. But what exactly is it? What causes it? And what happens after the bubble bursts?

Maybe you’re new to this real estate investment thing. You’ve heard about a “buy and hold” strategy, and you’re wondering… how long do you really have to hold a property? Many of our investors are in it for the long haul, but even buy-and-hold investors know the value of a good exit strategy.

Low inventory has been the thorn in the housing market’s side for over a decade. The pandemic heightened the pressure of this squeeze, but make no mistake – this problem has been brewing for a while. In a turn of events, Housing Wire reports that soaring interest rates (now hitting the 7% mark) are finally affecting the real estate market.

There are plenty of compelling reasons to invest in single-family rentals, including it's popularity as a stable asset for long-term earning potential.

We often caution new investors that real estate investment won’t make them rich overnight. It’s a process that takes time, intention, and slow growth. We say this primarily so expectations are managed – the better your perception of the reality of this business, the better you’ll fare.

The state of the U.S. real estate market may have you questioning whether or not investing in real estate is worth it. Let’s get this out of the way: every stage and season of the market carries distinct challenges and advantages. It doesn’t benefit your portfolio to wish for a bygone era.

We’re always evaluating the best way to secure our best financial future. There are countless strategies at your disposal – a hundred different assets to invest in and even more strategies to utilize. One of the most popular avenues of investment, however, is the stock market. While the S&P 500 has been on a rapid upward swing since 2020, 2022 saw a turn.