The Rent to Survive Report: When Homes Don't Sell and Owners Rent Them Out Instead
🎙️ Listen: Buddy talks through this article · 8 min
An AI-produced audio version of this article, from Real Stories with Buddy Blake.
Here's a pattern I've been watching for months. A home goes on the market, sits, takes a price cut, sits some more, and the listing expires or gets canceled. Then a few weeks later the same house shows up again in the MLS. Not for sale this time. For rent.
I've been selling homes here since 1998, and I've seen owners do this in every kind of market. But I'd never seen hard numbers on how often it happens here, or whether it actually works out for the owner. So we built a report to find out. We call it the Rent to Survive Report, because that's what most of these owners are doing: renting the house to keep up with the payment until they can figure out what's next.
What the Rent to Survive Report Shows
The report looks at every resale listing in our five counties (New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, Onslow and Duplin) that expired or was canceled in the last 12 months. Then it checks the MLS to see which of those same properties came back as a rental.
Here's what it found:
- About 1 in 22 homes that didn't sell became a rental. That's 241 of the 5,196 listings that expired or were canceled.
- They sat a long time first. The median home was on the market 119 days before the owner gave up, usually after cutting the price.
- The rent is a small slice of the price. They asked a median of $1,995 a month. The ones that rented got a median of $1,900. Over a year, that's only about 7% of the price they couldn't get.
- Many owners had a backup plan going the whole time. 128 owners listed the home for rent while it was still for sale, and 65 signed a lease before the sale listing even ran out.
- Renting didn't always work either. 53 of the rental listings also expired or were pulled without a tenant, and 34 are still sitting on the rental market.
Onslow County stands out. There, about 1 in 10 homes that didn't sell became a rental, and in Jacksonville it's closer to 1 in 7. With a big military rental market, a lease is an easy fallback. You can also see the numbers for New Hanover County, Wilmington and Brunswick County.
Does the Rent Actually Cover the Mortgage?
This is the part I really wanted to know. The MLS doesn't show anyone's loan, but it does show when each home was last bought and what it sold for. So for the 156 owners we could trace, we estimated their payment the way a lender would: 20% down, a 30-year loan at the average rate the week they bought, plus their actual property tax bill, insurance and HOA dues.
Here's what came back:
- About 30% take in less rent than the payment itself (mortgage, taxes, insurance and HOA).
- Once you count normal upkeep and one empty month a year, about 65% are losing money every month.
- For the owners coming up short, the median loss is about $390 a month, and that's before paying a property manager.
- Most of these owners bought in 2022 or later, when rates were already 5% to 7%. That's a big reason the math doesn't work.
To make it real, here's a typical owner from the report (the actual property closest to the middle, not named). They bought in 2022 for $170,000 at about 6.9%. The home rents for $1,400 a month. After the mortgage, taxes, insurance and HOA, there's about $125 left. Then take out upkeep and one month empty a year, and they're about $154 in the hole every month. And that's assuming nothing big breaks.
These are estimates, not anyone's real loan, and some owners put more down or bought years ago at a lower rate. But the pattern is clear. For most people who rent a house because it didn't sell, the rent is buying time, not making money.
Why Owners Rent Instead of Selling
I understand why people do it. Usually it's one of these:
- They don't want to sell for less than they think the home is worth, or less than they need.
- They've already bought their next home and need the payment covered now.
- They're hoping rates or prices move and next year is better.
But renting comes with costs that don't show up on the listing. Tenants wear a home faster than owners do. The repair calls come on their schedule, not yours. Your equity stays locked in the house. And a lease makes the next sale harder, because now you're either selling to an investor with a tenant in place or waiting for the lease to end.
Run Your Own Numbers First
If you're weighing this right now, try our Rent It or Sell It calculator. Put in your home's value, your loan balance and rate, and the rent you expect, and it shows what's really left each month after the mortgage, taxes, insurance, repairs, empty months and a property manager. You can download your results as a PDF to look at later or share with your spouse or tax advisor.
And if your home didn't sell, the better question may be why. Most of the homes in this report sat for months and cut their price before giving up. Often the fix is the price, the condition, or who saw the home. A fresh plan can cost a lot less than a year as an accidental landlord. That's part of what we look at with every seller, and it's why we also built the Deal Killer Report and Market Insights for your area.
See the Report for Your Area
The full Rent to Survive Report updates every day from the MLS. You can read it on screen or download the PDF to print. It breaks the numbers down by county, price range and type of home.
If your home didn't sell, or you've already rented it and want to plan your next move before the lease ends, let's talk. I'll show you the numbers for your neighborhood and help you decide what makes sense for you. Call or text me at (910) 395-1000.
How these numbers are counted: Resale and new-construction home listings in the Hive MLS that expired or were canceled in the last 12 months, matched by address to a later rental listing in the same MLS. Homes that sold in between are left out. Rentals offered outside the MLS aren't counted, so the real number is higher. Mortgage figures are estimates based on each home's MLS purchase record, not any owner's actual loan. Numbers as of October 7, 2026.
Read the episode transcript
Host: Okay Buddy, so I gotta ask you about something because you've been talking about this pattern for a while now. A house goes up for sale, sits there, price cut, sits more, and then it just... disappears. And then it pops back up weeks later but not for sale. For rent. What's going on there?
Buddy Blake: Yeah, I've been watching that for months. And honestly, I've seen owners do this in every kind of market since I started selling here back in '98. But I'd never actually seen the hard numbers on it - like, how often does that really happen, and does it even work out for the person doing it? So we built a report to find out.
Host: Oh I love that you actually went and pulled the data instead of just going off a hunch. What'd you call it?
Buddy Blake: We call it the Rent to Survive Report. Because that's really what's happening - most of these owners aren't trying to become landlords for fun, they're renting the house just to keep up with the payment while they figure out their next move.
Host: So walk me through it - what exactly did you look at?
Buddy Blake: We pulled every resale listing in our five counties - New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, Onslow and Duplin - that expired or got canceled in the last twelve months. Then we checked the MLS to see which of those same properties came back as a rental.
Host: And? What'd you find?
Buddy Blake: About one in twenty-two homes that didn't sell ended up becoming a rental. That's two hundred forty-one out of fifty-one ninety-six listings that expired or got pulled.
Host: One in twenty-two, okay. That's not nothing. How long were these places just sitting there before the owner threw in the towel?
Buddy Blake: The median home sat on the market a hundred and nineteen days before the owner gave up - and usually that's after they'd already cut the price at least once.
Host: Four months, basically, before they even get to the renting part. So once they do rent it, is the money any good?
Buddy Blake: Not really. They asked a median of nineteen ninety-five a month, and the ones that actually rented got nineteen hundred. Stretch that over a year and that's only about seven percent of the price they couldn't get for the house.
Host: Seven percent. [laughs sorry wait that's me reacting] Okay that's rough. So it's really just a stopgap, not a real financial win.
Buddy Blake: Exactly. And here's something interesting - a lot of owners had a backup plan going the whole time. A hundred twenty-eight of them listed the home for rent while it was still actively for sale. Sixty-five actually signed a lease before the sale listing even ran out.
Host: Wow, so they were hedging their bets from the start. But did the renting side always work out?
Buddy Blake: No, not even close. Fifty-three of those rental listings also expired or got pulled without ever landing a tenant. And thirty-four are still sitting on the rental market right now.
Host: So some of these homes just can't catch a break either way. Now, I noticed you mentioned Onslow County specifically - what's happening down there?
Buddy Blake: Onslow really stands out. About one in ten homes that didn't sell became a rental there, and in Jacksonville it's closer to one in seven. Makes sense when you think about it - there's a big military rental market there, so a lease is just an easier fallback. We've also got the numbers broken out for New Hanover County, Wilmington and Brunswick County if folks want to see how their area compares.
Host: Okay, this next part is what I really want to know. Does the rent even cover the mortgage?
Buddy Blake: That's the part I was most curious about too. The MLS doesn't show anybody's actual loan, but it does show when the home was last bought and what it sold for. So for a hundred fifty-six owners we could trace, we estimated the payment the way a lender would - twenty percent down, a thirty-year loan at the average rate the week they bought, plus their real tax bill, insurance and HOA dues.
Host: And what'd that math look like?
Buddy Blake: About thirty percent are taking in less rent than the payment itself - just the mortgage, taxes, insurance and HOA. And once you factor in normal upkeep and one empty month a year, about sixty-five percent are losing money every single month.
Host: Sixty-five percent! Okay that's a lot of people losing money just trying to hang onto the house.
Buddy Blake: Yeah, and for the ones coming up short, the median loss is about three hundred ninety dollars a month - and that's before you even pay a property manager. Most of these owners bought in 2022 or later, when rates were already sitting at five to seven percent. That's a huge reason the math just doesn't work.
Host: Can you give me, like, a real example? Not with names or anything, just to make it click.
Buddy Blake: Sure - take the property closest to the middle of our data set. Bought in 2022 for a hundred seventy thousand at about six point nine percent. It rents for fourteen hundred a month. After the mortgage, taxes, insurance and HOA, there's about a hundred twenty-five dollars left. Then take out upkeep and one month empty a year, and they're about a hundred fifty-four dollars in the hole every month. And that's assuming nothing big breaks.
Host: Geez. So even in a best-case scenario, they're still losing money. Why do people even go this route instead of just selling for less and moving on?
Buddy Blake: Usually it's one of three things. They don't want to sell for less than they think it's worth, or less than they actually need. Or they've already bought their next place and need the payment covered right now. Or they're just hoping rates or prices move and next year looks better.
Host: That makes sense emotionally, but it sounds like there's hidden costs nobody really talks about.
Buddy Blake: There really are. Tenants wear a home down faster than owners do. The repair calls come on their schedule, not yours. Your equity stays locked up in the house. And honestly, a lease makes the next sale harder too - now you're either selling to an investor with a tenant already in place, or you're waiting for the lease to end before you can even list it.
Host: Okay so if somebody's sitting there right now wondering if they should rent or just sell, what do you tell them to do first?
Buddy Blake: Run your own numbers before you decide anything. We've got a Rent It or Sell It calculator - you put in your home's value, your loan balance and rate, and the rent you'd expect, and it shows you what's actually left each month after the mortgage, taxes, insurance, repairs, empty months, and a property manager. You can even download the results as a PDF to look over later or share with your spouse or your tax advisor.
Host: That's such a practical tool. And honestly, if a home didn't sell in the first place, isn't the bigger question just... why?
Buddy Blake: That's exactly it. Most of the homes in this report sat for months and cut their price before the owner gave up. A lot of the time the real fix is the price, the condition, or just who actually saw the home. A fresh plan can cost a whole lot less than spending a year as an accidental landlord. That's part of what we look at with every seller - it's also why we built the Deal Killer Report and our Market Insights for different areas.
Host: This has been such a good breakdown, Buddy. Where can people go see the full numbers for their own area?
Buddy Blake: The full Rent to Survive Report updates every day straight from the MLS. You can read it right on screen or download the PDF to print out, and it breaks everything down by county, price range, and type of home. If your home didn't sell, or you've already rented it and you're thinking about your next move before the lease ends, let's talk it through. I'll show you the numbers for your neighborhood and help you figure out what actually makes sense for you. Call or text me, nine one zero, three nine five, one zero zero zero.
Host: Perfect, and we'll have the full report linked right in the show notes for anyone who wants to dig into the numbers themselves. Buddy, this was great - thanks so much for breaking it all down.
Buddy Blake: Anytime. Thanks for having me.
