South Dakota rental market data

Home-value growth across nine measured metros had a median of 3.4%, with the measured distribution running from 0.9% at the 10th percentile to 5.9% at the 90th. Rent growth, available for only five metros, had a 3.6% median and a wider 2.1% to 10.3% range. The supplied median difference was just 0.25 percentage point, so the broad measured pattern is close alignment rather than a major split.

Aberdeen diverged: its rent rose 14.6% against 6.7% home-value growth, a calculated 7.9-percentage-point spread. Its measured value was $245,097, rent was $1,047 and gross yield was 5.1%. Sioux Falls posted 4.0% rent growth and 1.4% value growth, while Rapid City recorded 3.6% and 2.1%, respectively. Aberdeen’s rent move warrants direct lease-comparable and renewal checks; an asking-rent index and gross yield do not establish collected rent or net return.

Median job growth across nine measured metros was 0.06%, with the distribution extending from a 0.8% decline at the 10th percentile to 1.6% growth at the 90th. Brookings and Rapid City each recorded about 1.6% growth, while Sioux Falls was at 0.3%. The metro median therefore does not show a broad employment surge, even though selected markets were stronger.

Across 62 counties with migration data, net migration was positive by 1,423 people, or 1.57 per 1,000 residents. The counter-signal is income: aggregate mover adjusted gross income outflows exceeded inflows by $77,979. These measures support checking local employers and tenant income rather than treating population movement alone as rental demand. They do not identify how many movers formed renter households, and their source periods do not fully align with the current housing indicators.

The nine-metro distribution had a median of 3.5 months of supply, 40 days on market and price drops on 22.2% of listings. Sioux Falls stood out among the named building markets with 2,724 permitted units, or 9.14 per 1,000 residents, while resale supply was 2.2 months and median marketing time was 34 days. Price drops still appeared on 22.2% of listings. Rapid City had 1,106 permits, or 7.23 per 1,000 residents, alongside 3.8 months of supply and 60 days on market.

Spearfish showed the clearest resale-friction counter-signal among the named metros: 5.3 months of supply, 73 days on market, price drops on 19.3% of listings and a 96.6% sale-to-list ratio. Those measures indicate more room for price and exit-time scrutiny than the Sioux Falls figures. Permits remain a pipeline measure, however; the packet does not show completions, unit type or whether permitted homes will enter the rental stock.

Across 66 measured counties, the vacancy-rate distribution had a 17.0% median and ranged from 8.1% at the 10th percentile to 25.8% at the 90th. The median renter share was 26.4%, while the median share of renters spending at least 30% of income on rent was 33.1%. The median of county median-year-built measures was 1972, which makes property age relevant to inspection and capital-cost screening without establishing actual condition.

Tripp County combined an 18.3% vacancy rate with 57.3% of renters cost-burdened. Clay County had 11.4% vacancy, a 49.2% renter share and 49.2% renter burden; Pennington County had 10.3% vacancy and 48.7% renter burden. At the other end, Marshall County’s vacancy rate was 32.2%, but its renter share was 19.7% and 83.2% of housing was single-family. Countywide vacancy includes housing that may not be available or suitable for long-term renters, while high burden signals limited tenant capacity rather than automatic rent upside.

Across 63 measured counties, the median investor share of purchase originations was 8.3% and the 90th percentile was 17.5%. Statewide measured totals were 858 investor purchase originations out of 9,535 purchases, equal to 9.0% by calculation.

The headline county percentages are fragile. Corson County’s 50.0% share represented one investor purchase out of two total purchases; Todd County’s 50.0% represented three of six; and Haakon County’s 30.0% represented three of 10. Counts should therefore carry more weight than the percentages when screening competition. HMDA purchase originations do not establish bidding intensity, recurring demand or activity outside the measured originations.