Landlords play a key role in the housing economy, owning and managing rental properties for their tenants. In this article, we’ll dig into 29 insightful statistics about landlords and the properties they own. 1. 10.6 Million Americans Earn Income from Rental Properties Approximately 10.6 million American tax filers declared rental income when they filed their taxes. That means about 7.1% of 1040 filers could potentially be landlords. Additionally, they noted income earned from about 17.7 million properties. [Source: Internal Revenue Service] 2. Landlords Have an Average Income of $97,000 a Year While landlords might bring in cash from several sources, their income levels tend to be solid. While the real median household income is just shy of $62,000, landlords bring in closer to $97,000 annually through all of their income sources. [Source: US Census & Landlordology] 3. “Mom and Pop” Landlords Own 20.5 Million Rental Units Of the approximately 50 million rental housing units in the United States, around 41% of the rental units are owned by mom and pop landlords, also known as individual investor landlords. That means approximately 20.5 million units are overseen by mom and pop landlords. [Source: JP Morgan Chase] 4. The Average Landlord Has Three Properties On average, landlords have three properties to their name. The value of those properties isn’t necessarily through the roof: 40% of landlords own less than $200,000 worth of property, and an additional 30% fall in the $200,000-$400,000 range. Only 30% of landlords own properties worth $400,000 or more, with 7% at the top owning properties worth $1 million or more. [Source: MySmartMove] 5. Half of All Landlords Manage Their Own Properties 45% of landlords manage their own properties – just north of the 44% that don’t manage the properties they own, instead hiring someone or outsourcing property management to a third party. The remaining 11% consists of landlords that manage, but don’t own their properties. On average, landlords have three properties to their name. Of those who own the units, it’s about a 50/50 split when it comes to just being the owner and handing management over to someone else, or owning while also managing the properties. [Source: MySmartMove] 6. 25.8 Million Rental Units Are Owned by Businesses or Partnerships Many rental properties aren’t owned by individuals or families. Instead, businesses, collectives, and similar entities control the units. In total, approximately 25.8 rental units are owned by some kind of business entity. Usually, the units are in multi-family properties, like apartment buildings. [Source: US Census] 7. The Largest REIT Owns 115,000 Rental Units Real estate investment trusts (REITs) make it possible to invest in a wide range of properties to earn a profit. Typically, the REITs aren’t just owners of the properties; the trust manages them, too. As a result, the trust can become a mega-landlord, overseeing hundreds or thousands of properties. One such trust – Starwood Capital, a REIT headquartered in Miami, Florida – is the largest REIT in the United States. In total, it had 115,000 units to its name in 2022. [Source: Statista] 8. Investor Home Purchases Plummet More Than 30% in Q3 2022 Post-pandemic, investors were scooping up available properties at a shockingly high rate. In Q4 2021, investors purchased 18.4% of the available inventory, representing around 80,000 properties with a cumulative value of $50 billion. However, 2022 has been marred with uncertainty. Inflation, rising interest rates, and a potential recession on the horizon are slowing interest. During Q3 2022, there was a year-over-year decline in investor home purchases of 30.2%. They purchased approximately 65,000 properties or around 17.5% of all home purchases. [Source: Redfin & Redfin] 9. Half of Single Property Landlords Purchased the Property as a Primary Residence When it comes to single property landlords, 50% of them didn’t initially buy it as an investment property. Instead, the unit began as their primary residence, later transitioning into a rental property. [Source: Foremost Insurance Group] 10. Rents Increased More Than 24% on Average Between 2021 and 2022 Rent prices have risen dramatically since the pandemic. On average, the cost of renting one- and two-bedroom apartments increased by 24.2% between 2021 and 2022. [Source: Credit Karma] 11. Landlords Have Raised Rent Rates an Average of 31% Since 2010 Since 2010, rental rates have gone up dramatically. The average increase comes in at 31%, a rise that would give a property that was rented out for $1,000 a month in 2010 a cost of $1,310 a month today. That’s an additional $3,720 in rent a year. [Source: iPropertyManagement] 12. During the Last Decade, Rent Increases Outpaced Wage Inflation by 270% Pay rates have risen over time, but not at a rate that compensates for many cost increases. When it comes to rent, the average yearly increase has outpaced the average annual wage inflation by a shocking 270%. Rent inflation has also exceeded currency inflation by a startling 40.7%. [Source: iPropertyManagement] 13. 48.7% of Landlords Have Asked a Tenant to Leave Early A tenant’s lease usually dictates how long a tenant has a right to stay in a property, suggesting they don’t break the rules. However, 48.7% of landlords have actually requested that a tenant break their lease and head for the door sooner. [Source: Porch] 14. Evicting a Tenant May Cost a Landlord Up to $10,000 When tenants don’t pay rent, landlords are down a source of income. At times, they may even be losing more money if they have to handle costs associated with the occupied property without getting rent in return. As a result, when non-payment is an issue, many landlords start eviction proceedings in hopes of getting the non-paying tenant out and a paying tenant in. However, choosing to evict a tenant can be a costly move. Eviction filings and proceedings can cost landlords up to $10,000. Even the least expensive eviction can run $3,500. [Source: SmartMove] 15. Post-Pandemic Total Rent Debt in the United States is Over $15 Billion During the pandemic, eviction moratoriums prevented landlords from evicting tenants that fell behind on rent, leading to a start rise in rent debt … Continue reading 35 Insightful Landlord Statistics – 2023