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Several Midwestern and Southern single-family rental markets are bucking the national trend of slowing home price appreciation amid strong rental yields.
Much of the country is grappling with declining cash flows and stagnant home prices, according to a new report from data provider Attom that looked at the single-family rental markets in 416 counties with enough data.
From 2025 to 2026, nearly 55 percent of the counties Attom analyzed that had enough data for both years reported declining rental yields. However, landlords have been charging more for rent than they used to, due to the increasing expenses of owning and operating properties.
A select group of counties, however, has not just strong cash flows but also appreciating home prices — and they aren’t in key coastal locales but rather more affordable locales with smaller populations and their industrial economies.
Leading the charge is Peoria County, Illinois, in the Midwest, which has lately seen a boom in residential development as buyers flock to areas with less expensive housing and more space. The county reported 12.5 percent gross rental yield in the first few months of 2026 — the third-highest annual gross rental yield, per Attom’s analysis. The county also witnessed a 15.5 percent year-over-year increase in its median sale price, putting Peoria in the top 4 percent of counties on this metric.
Also in the Midwest, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, has emerged as a top performer. The county posted an 11.6 percent annual yield, placing fourth among the counties studied. Its median year-over-year home price growth soared by almost 12 percent.
The South, long a draw for developers and buyers looking for lower costs of living, also has markets experiencing high rental yields for single-family homes as well as strong price appreciation. For instance, Florence County, South Carolina, reported an 11.4 percent gross rental yield — sixth overall. The median home has seen its price grow by more than 9 percent year over year as well.
On the flip side, California, home to some of the most expensive markets in the country, has single-family rental markets with low rental yields and among the strongest year-over-year drops in median prices. Santa Clara, California, reported the worst rental yield so far this year of 3.1 percent — tied with Walton, Florida. Santa Clara’s home prices have fallen 9 percent year over year.