4 minBusiness
Rising Home Insurance Premiums Hit 84% of Single-Family Rental Investors' Cash Flow
A new survey of single-family rental investors finds that 84% say rising home insurance premiums have impacted their cash flow over the past year, while a growing share plan to raise rents and pull back on purchases as mortgage rates stay elevated.
Rising home insurance premiums have become a direct drag on the finances of single-family rental investors, with 84% of landlords saying higher premiums have impacted their cash flow over the past 12 months, according to a new survey conducted by ResiClub and LendingOne.
The survey, fielded between August 17 and September 14, gathered responses from 216 qualified single-family investors and landlords who own at least one investment property. The findings paint a picture of an investor class growing more cautious about the year ahead as borrowing costs remain stubbornly high and operating expenses climb.
Insurance costs are not the only pressure point. A striking 65% of single-family rental investors now expect the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate to stay above 6.5% over the next 12 months, a sharp jump from just 11% who held that view in the fourth quarter of 2025. That shift in rate expectations appears to be feeding directly into acquisition plans.
Nearly half of respondents — 44% — say they are «very unlikely» or «somewhat unlikely» to buy another investment property in the next 12 months. That is the highest level of reluctance recorded since the survey began two years ago, and it marks a significant increase from the 32% who said the same in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Looking further ahead, 29% of single-family rental landlords expect to increase their investment activity in 2027 compared with 2026, while 56% expect to maintain current levels and 15% anticipate scaling back. The data suggests that while most investors are not retreating entirely, the era of aggressive expansion is giving way to a more measured approach.
On the sell side, 37% of landlords say they are likely to sell at least one existing property in the next 12 months. That figure is down slightly from 43% who said the same in the fourth quarter of 2025, indicating that despite the pressure on cash flow, most investors are holding onto their portfolios rather than exiting the market.
To offset rising costs, many landlords are turning to rent increases. A total of 59% of landlords plan to raise rents over the next 12 months. Among them, 31% expect increases of 1% to 3%, while only 1% of single-family rental landlords anticipate raising rents by more than 7%. The modest scale of most planned increases suggests that landlords are wary of pushing tenants too far even as their own expenses mount.
The combination of elevated mortgage rates, higher insurance premiums, and cautious rent pricing points to a rental housing market in transition. Investors who once counted on cheap financing and predictable operating costs are now navigating a landscape where both are less certain. The survey results indicate that many are choosing to wait rather than commit new capital, a stance that could have broader implications for the supply of single-family rental homes in the coming years.
For tenants, the findings offer a mixed picture. While a majority of landlords plan rent increases, most of those increases are expected to be moderate. At the same time, the reluctance of investors to buy additional properties could eventually tighten the availability of rental homes, particularly if current owners decide to sell into a market with fewer willing buyers.
The survey, a collaboration between ResiClub and LendingOne, a private real estate lender, provides one of the more detailed snapshots available of sentiment among single-family rental investors. With 216 qualified respondents, the results reflect the views of landlords who are actively managing residential properties and making decisions about whether to buy, hold, or sell in a challenging financing environment.
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