What 103 closed leases and 244 closed sales say about renting out a home in Bedford, Texas right now.
By Kyle McCaw, McCaw Property Management Published August 2026. Data: NTREIS closed transactions in Bedford (76021 and 76022), February 7 – August 6, 2026.
Most of the rental numbers you can find for Bedford come from estimate engines — algorithms guessing at what a house should rent for based on what similar houses are asking. Asking is not achieving. So twice a year I pull the closed transactions out of the MLS and run the actual arithmetic.
Here is what the first half of 2026 looked like in Bedford, and the three things I would do differently if I owned a house here.
The Headline Numbers
Across 103 closed leases:
- Median rent: $2,400 a month
- Middle half of the market: $2,173 to $2,650
- Median rent per square foot: $1.44
- Median days on market: 19
- 69% leased at or above the original asking rent
- Median leased home: 1,684 square feet, built in 1983
Across 244 closed sales:
- Median sale price: $400,000
- Median price per square foot: $208.15
- Median days on market: 16
- 57% closed below the original asking price, median cut $22,000
- Median sold home: 1,912 square feet, built in 1981
Put those together and Bedford’s gross rent multiplier sits at 13.9, with a monthly rent-to-price ratio of 0.600%. The median home costs $400,000 and produces $28,800 in gross annual rent.
Bedford Leases Better than it Sells
This is the cleanest signal in the whole data set, and it runs against what a lot of owners assume about a flat-population inner-ring suburb.
On the rental side, 69% of homes closed at or above their original asking rent — almost all of them exactly at it, since only three of 103 leased above ask. Where a landlord did reduce, the median reduction was $150. On the sale side, 57% of homes closed below original list with a median reduction of $22,000; the other 43% closed at or above.
Same city, same six months, same housing stock. Rents are landing on the number. Sale prices are not.
If you charted the two side by side, you would see a rental market clustered right at the ask and a sale market with a long tail hanging below it.
One thing that surprised me: this is happening while inventory is tight. There are 75 homes on the sale market, and the 244 closings in this window ran about 41 a month — roughly 1.8 months of supply against a conventional six-month benchmark. Low inventory usually hands sellers the pen. In Bedford it is not converting into pricing power on individual listings.
Lease-Up Speed is Bimodal, and that is a Pricing Story
Median days on market for a Bedford lease was 19. But the median hides the shape:
| Days on market | Closed leases | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–14 | 42 | 41% |
| 15–30 | 19 | 18% |
| 31–60 | 26 | 25% |
| 61–90 | 6 | 6% |
| 90+ | 10 | 10% |
Forty-one percent of Bedford homes leased inside two weeks. Ten percent sat past ninety days. Picture that as a histogram and you get a tall spike at the front and a long thin tail at the back — not a smooth bell curve.
The homes in that tail have something in common, and it is not what I expected. They are bigger. The 90-plus group ran a median 1,772 square feet against 1,688 for the two-week group, and they ended up achieving less rent — a median $2,325 against $2,498. Only six of the ten ever reduced their asking rent at all, and the median reduction across the group was $125.
So the slow homes in Bedford are not mainly a story of landlords chasing the market down. They are larger houses in a market that pays a declining rate per square foot as homes get bigger — $1.51 at two bedrooms, $1.45 at three, $1.34 at four. If you own the biggest house on the block, budget for a longer lease-up and be realistic about the ceiling. On a $2,400 rental, ninety extra days of vacancy is $7,200, and you do not recover it in the lease you eventually sign.
Rent Climbed Through the Season, and Asking Rents Did Not Keep Up
Median closed rent by month:
| Month | Leases | Median rent | Median DOM |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | 9 | $2,295 | 45 |
| March | 19 | $2,320 | 15 |
| April | 18 | $2,195 | 15 |
| May | 16 | $2,423 | 29 |
| June | 20 | $2,498 | 19 |
| July | 17 | $2,500 | 16 |
| August (to 8/6) | 4 | $2,500 | 15 |
That is a $305 spread between April’s median and July’s, inside a single six-month window. Plotted as a line, it dips in April and climbs through the summer leasing season before flattening at $2,500.
Before anyone extrapolates that into a rent forecast: median rent per square foot was basically flat across the same months — $1.44 in April, $1.41 in July — and peaked back in March at $1.51. The monthly movement is mostly about which homes leased when, not about rents rising across the board. With 16 to 20 leases a month, these medians are noisy.
What the table is genuinely good for is knowing which comps your renewal will be judged against. A renewal negotiated in late winter is arguing with February and March closings — $2,295 and $2,320. One negotiated in early summer is arguing with June and July — $2,498 and $2,500.
Now the part that actually costs owners money. The 29 homes currently listed for rent in Bedford ask a median $2,295, which reads as a bargain against the $2,400 closed median — until you notice they are smaller. Median 1,498 square feet listed, against 1,684 leased.
Normalize for size and the comparison inverts. Active listings are asking a median $1.61 per square foot. Closed leases achieved $1.44. Homes on the market right now are asking roughly 12% above what the market is paying. The four-bedroom listings are the worst of it — a median ask of $4,175 against $2,800 achieved.
Which is exactly what you would expect, because the pool you see when you browse listings is by definition the homes that have not leased. Set your rent by scrolling a portal and you anchor to the group that priced wrong. Set it off closed comps at your square footage and bedroom count, and you are pricing against reality.
The Bedroom-Count Trap
Rent goes up with bedrooms. Cost goes up faster.
| Beds | Median rent | Median sale price | Gross rent multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | $1,850 | $322,500 | 14.5 |
| 3 | $2,400 | $371,575 | 12.9 |
| 4 | $2,800 | $452,500 | 13.5 |
The four-bedroom costs $80,925 more to buy than the three-bedroom and returns $400 more per month — $4,800 a year. That is a 5.9% gross return on the incremental capital, against 7.2% gross on the median Bedford home overall.
Rent per square foot tells the same story from another angle: $1.51 at two bedrooms, $1.45 at three, $1.34 at four. Bedford pays for size at a declining rate.
Three-bedroom homes were 64% of everything that leased. They are the deepest, most liquid slice of this market, they lease in a median 17 days, and they carry the best multiplier in the city. If you are shopping Bedford, that is where the arithmetic starts.
The Split Nobody Runs: 76021 versus 76022
Bedford has two ZIP codes and they behave like two different investments.
| 76021 (north) | 76022 (south) | |
|---|---|---|
| Median closed rent | $2,495 | $2,295 |
| Median closed sale | $435,250 | $332,500 |
| Median year built (sales) | 1983 | 1967 |
| Median lease DOM | 28.5 | 15 |
| Gross rent multiplier | 14.5 | 12.1 |
| Rent-to-price | 0.573% | 0.690% |
Buying in 76022 costs 24% less. Renting there brings in only 8% less. Run those against each other — you keep 92% of the rent while paying 76% of the price — and it works out to roughly 20% more gross rent per dollar invested. Same city, same school district, same tax jurisdictions.
South Bedford also leased faster: a median 15 days against 28.5 in the north.
The catch is age. The median 76022 home that sold was built in 1967 — nearly sixty years old — against 1983 in 76021. That is where the discount comes from, and it is where your capital plan has to go. Cast iron drain lines, original sewer laterals, panels, and HVAC systems that are on their third life. Buy in 76022 with a 76021 reserve assumption and the yield advantage evaporates into deferred maintenance. Buy there with a real capital plan and it is the better dollar in Bedford right now.
Two Things That Do Not Show Up in the Rent Number
Property taxes. The 2025 combined rate across the City of Bedford, HEB ISD, Tarrant County, the Hospital District and Tarrant County College is roughly $2.0186 per $100 of assessed value. On the median $400,000 home that is about $8,074 a year — around $673 a month, or 28% of gross annual rent, before insurance, maintenance, vacancy or management. The city’s own rate rose 3.05 cents this year.
The city’s rental rules. Bedford requires a permit on every single-family rental — $75 a year per property, filed within 30 days of acquiring ownership, renewed annually — and a full inspection at every change of tenancy. Not annually. Every turnover. There is a narrow exemption when the tenant change falls within three months of your annual renewal, but plan on the inspection.
That second one changes how you have to run a turn. In most North Texas cities, a turn is a business judgment about what the next lease justifies. In Bedford, a code officer walks the house between tenants, so the punch list is not optional and the sequencing matters — you cannot move a tenant in and fix things afterward. Combine that with a housing stock where 74% of leased homes were built before 1990 and you have a market where turn management, not lease-up, is the operating challenge.
What I Would Do If I Owned a Bedford Rental Today
- Price off closed comps at matched square footage, not off listings. Homes on the market are asking about 12% more per square foot than the market is paying. Anchor to them and you buy yourself vacancy.
- Know which comps your renewal will face. A renewal you negotiate in February is arguing against $2,295 and $2,320 closings. One you negotiate in June is arguing against $2,498 and $2,500. If your anniversary date is working against you, a one-time short lease resets it, and it costs you nothing.
- Build the turn backward from the inspection. Get the scope done and the punch list closed before the city walks it, not after. On a 43-year-old house, assume they will find something.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average rent for a house in Bedford, TX?
Across 103 closed leases in Bedford (ZIP codes 76021 and 76022) from February 7 to August 6, 2026, the median rent was $2,400 a month. The middle half of the market leased between $2,173 and $2,650, and the median rent per square foot was $1.44. These numbers come from closed MLS leases, not asking rents or online estimates.
How much does a 2, 3, or 4-bedroom house rent for in Bedford?
Based on closed MLS leases from February through early August 2026, the median rent was $1,850 for a two-bedroom, $2,400 for a three-bedroom, and $2,800 for a four-bedroom. Three-bedroom homes made up 64% of all Bedford leases, so that is where most of the rental activity happens.
How long does it take to rent a house in Bedford?
The median Bedford rental leased in 19 days. About 41% of homes leased within two weeks and 59% leased within 30 days. About 10% sat on the market for more than 90 days, and those tended to be larger homes that were priced above what the market was paying for that size.
How should I price my Bedford rental?
Price off closed leases for homes with the same bedroom count and similar square footage, not off the homes you see listed online. In our August 2026 data, active Bedford listings were asking a median $1.61 per square foot while closed leases achieved $1.44. That means homes still on the market were asking about 12% more than renters were actually paying. Pricing too high is the most common reason a home sits empty.
What is the difference between 76021 and 76022 for a rental investor?
North Bedford (76021) had a median closed rent of $2,495 and a median sale price of $435,250. South Bedford (76022) had a median closed rent of $2,295 and a median sale price of $332,500. Homes in 76022 cost about 24% less to buy but rent for only about 8% less, which works out to roughly 20% more gross rent per dollar invested. The tradeoff is age: the median home sold in 76022 was built in 1967, compared with 1983 in 76021, so plan a bigger repair budget.
What kind of return does a Bedford rental produce?
Using closed MLS data from February to August 2026, the median Bedford home sold for $400,000 and the median home rented for $2,400 a month, or $28,800 a year. That is a gross rent multiplier of 13.9 and a monthly rent-to-price ratio of 0.60%. Gross return means before taxes, insurance, repairs, vacancy, and management, so your net return will be lower.
Is a 4-bedroom house a better rental investment than a 3-bedroom in Bedford?
Not in the current numbers. A median four-bedroom cost $80,925 more to buy than a three-bedroom but rented for only $400 more a month. That extra $4,800 a year is about a 5.9% gross return on the extra money spent, compared with about 7.2% gross on the median Bedford home. Three-bedroom homes also make up most of the leases in the city.
Does Bedford require a permit to rent out a house?
Yes. The City of Bedford requires a single-family rental permit for houses, duplexes, and townhomes rented to someone other than the owner (Code of Ordinances Ch. 22, Art. V). The permit is $75 a year per property, must be filed within 30 days of buying the home, and must be renewed every year. The owner also has to certify that working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are installed.
Does Bedford inspect rental homes between tenants?
Yes. Bedford requires a full inspection at every change of tenant, not just once a year. The only exception is when the tenant change happens within three months of your annual permit renewal and your prior renewal was in good standing. Because a city inspector walks the house between tenants, repairs need to be finished before the next tenant moves in.
What should I fix before a Bedford rental inspection?
Bedford’s minimum housing standards apply to single-family rentals. Among other items, the owner must keep plumbing, electrical, heating, and air conditioning working; provide hot water heated to at least 100°F and heat to at least 68°F; keep windows, screens, and doors working; and provide working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. With about three out of four Bedford rentals built before 1990, older plumbing, electrical panels, and HVAC systems are the items most worth checking ahead of time.
How much are property taxes on a rental home in Bedford?
For tax year 2025, the combined rate for a Bedford home in HEB ISD was about $2.02 per $100 of assessed value (City of Bedford, HEB ISD, Tarrant County, the Tarrant County Hospital District, and Tarrant County College). On a $400,000 home, that is about $8,074 a year, or roughly 28% of the median home’s gross annual rent. On September 8, 2026, the city adopted a higher city rate of about $0.567 per $100 for the next tax year, up from about $0.526, so budget for a somewhat higher bill. Rental homes do not get the homestead exemption.
Can I run a short-term rental or Airbnb in Bedford?
Yes, but it needs its own city permit, separate from the regular rental permit. Bedford limits stays to 29 days or fewer, caps occupancy at two people per bedroom plus two (12 maximum), requires Hotel Occupancy Tax registration and liability insurance, and uses a spacing rule between short-term rental properties. Fees listed by the city have varied between sources, so confirm the current amount with the City of Bedford before you budget.
How much does property management cost in Bedford?
McCaw Property Management charges a flat $175 a month per home for full-service management instead of a percentage of the rent. On a $2,400 Bedford rental, a percentage fee of 8% to 10% would run $192 to $240 a month, so a flat fee keeps more of the rent with the owner as rents rise. We have managed homes in Bedford and across the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 2002.
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I pull this data twice a year for every city we manage in. If you want the version specific to your street, your square footage and your bedroom count — including whether now is the right moment to list at all — send me the address. .
Get a Free Rental AnalysisKyle McCaw owns McCaw Property Management, a locally owned, flat-fee property management company based in Keller, Texas, operating since 2002 and managing homes across more than fifty cities in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. Market figures above are computed from NTREIS closed-transaction data for Bedford, Texas covering February 7 through August 6, 2026. Ordinance summaries reflect the Bedford Code of Ordinances as published and are general information, not legal advice.