Once a niche strategy, build‑to‑rent (BTR) is now a part of the mainstream.
Annual U.S. build-to-rent (BTR) deliveries soared to 39,000 single-family homes in 2024, a 455% increase from the pre-pandemic 2019 BTR delivery count. Moreover, according to LendingOne’s analysis, the runway is long: the nation’s 100 largest metros still have over 90,000 units in the active BTR pipeline.
And while development is still heavily concentrated in the Sunbelt, purpose-built single-family rental communities are now cropping up in smaller Southeastern, Midwestern, and Mountain West metros, warranting real estate investors’ attention.
Annual U.S. Build-to-Rent Deliveries Hit Another All-Time High
To see where the build-to-rent has made the biggest footprint—and where BTR is continuing to expand—LendingOne examined Point2Homes/Yardi’s metro-level database of completed single-family build-to-rent deliveries from 2020 to 2024 and active pipeline counts as of April 2025, across the 100 largest U.S. metros. These were our top-line findings:
- BTR deliveries that were seeded during the Pandemic Housing Boom are now coming to fruition as annual deliveries hit a new record high in 2024.
- The Sun Belt’s BTR epicenters—Phoenix, Dallas, and Atlanta—continue to expand due to favorable demographics, developable land, and continued institutional investment.
- Build-to-rent is also gaining traction in secondary and tertiary markets—places like Wilmington, Des Moines, and Chattanooga—where the current BTR pipeline is more than double the size of what’s been delivered over the past five years
Sun Belt Markets Have the Largest Build-to-Rent Footprint
Among the largest 100 U.S. metros by population, these are the 10 markets with the largest BTR footprint:
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ → 25,712 units
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX → 18,863 units
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA → 14,197 units
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX → 9,219 units
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC → 8,551 units
- Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX → 6,124 units
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX → 4,539 units
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL → 4,204 units
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL → 4,084 units
- Jacksonville, FL → 3,873 units
Even as scattered-site acquisitions have cooled down over the last couple of years, big names like J.P. Morgan Asset Management are continuing to invest, propping up the investment category’s resilience. Even with rent prices cooling off, the long-term BTR vision for as well as Atlanta, Charlotte, and primarily Texas and Florida metros, is sustaining a growing footprint.
Smaller markets are not getting left behind either. While BTR momentum remains strong in Sun Belt giants, it’s the next tier of markets that may offer investors the most runway. In places like Colorado Springs (+260%), Durham (+228%), Richmond (+222%), and Wilmington (+185%), the pipeline of future build-to-rent supply is more than double what’s been delivered over the past five years.
These surges point to shifting investor focus toward affordable, fast-growing metros where competition is lower yet demand remains strong.
Top 40 Housing Markets with the Biggest Footprint of Single-Family Rentals Built-to-Rent Units
Big Picture
Build-to-rent has moved beyond its niche status, emerging as an investment category with staying power, driven by long-run demographic demand and an active pipeline stretching across both Sun Belt hubs and fast-growing secondary markets.