Indianapolis Rental Market Trend Report - June 7th, 2021

The Indianapolis Rental Market Trend Report analyzes four key data points: active listing growth, renter lead growth, average renter leads per property, and the average rent price for two-bedroom listings.

• Active Listings – Our first data set is the month-over-month change in the total number of active rental listings advertised on the TurboTenant platform. Factors such as seasonality will impact this number, with the rental season peaking January through August. Due to the pandemic, eviction moratoriums, and stay-at-home orders, more month over month fluctuations were reported in nearly every market we analyze. Traditionally, this data point helps us gauge the rental supply in each market and provides a more in-depth seasonality analysis. Through the lens of 2020, inconsistencies in baselines were noted. As we compare 2021 to 2020, we will work to glean insights into if and when the rental market is beginning to normalize and mirror moving and inventory trends of years past.
• Renter Leads – Our second data set is the month-over-month change in the total number of renter inquiries to a TurboTenant property listing. This data point is the demand side of our supply data point above.
• Average Number of Renter Leads Per Property – Our third data point brings together the first two to give us a better understanding of the competitive landscape in each location. We compare the total number on a month-over-month basis.
• Average Rent Price – Our fourth data point is the average rent price for a two-bedroom listing. Our analysis begins in January of 2020 and will continue throughout 2021. We want to understand how factors such as outmigration, changes in remote work and school, and eviction moratoriums impact rent prices in any given market.

Indianapolis Rental Market Trend Analysis

Active Listings

Active listings in Indianapolis fluctuated throughout 2020 but interestingly saw a significant increase in active listings in March at 57% – unlike many cities across the U.S. that saw decreases when the pandemic started. The most considerable growth in active listings occurred in July with a jump of 129%, and the lowest drop was in February 2020, with a decrease of 60%. The start of 2021 saw a decrease of 17% in January. However, we saw a slight increase in February and a considerable spike in March at 77%. April was down by 18% but was followed by a 45% increase in May.

Renter Leads and Average Leads Per Property

Renter leads in Indianapolis fluctuated throughout the year with significant increases and decreases. In March through June, renter leads waned but saw a considerable increase as the summer progressed, with a substantial jump in August and the highest growth in March of 2021 at 1,333%. The lowest change month-over-month was in 2021, with a decrease of 78% in February.

Average leads per property fell significantly in 2021, with February posting the lowest average for over a year at five. The highest average leads per property were reported in February 2020 at 56 – a 51-point difference from this year. However, similarly to renter leads, we saw a dramatic increase in March, up to 41 leads per property followed by another decrease, down to 24 in April and 27 for May.

Average Rent

The average rent amount for a two-bedroom listing in Indianapolis is extremely low for June 2021, at almost half the amount we saw last year. A spike in rent was seen in August 2020 at $1,248. After August, rent began to fall but stayed close to $900. February 2021 reported the highest rent of 2021 reported so far.

We will continue to update this data every month. If you have data requirements that are outside the scope of this article, please email [email protected]. We have ongoing data collection and are happy to supply another data set if it is available. Check out all of our COVID-19 landlord resources here.

If you are in the process of filling your properties, TurboTenant can help streamline your rental process with easy and free online rental applications as well as thorough tenant screening so you can find the best renter for your property.