The number of renter households in America grew 1.9% year over year in the second quarter of 2024 to a record 45.2 million, according to a new report from Redfin. The annual growth rate is more than three times faster than the number of homeowner households, which grew 0.6% to a record 86.3 million.
The number of renter households grew at the second-fastest pace since 2021, while the number of homeowner households grew at the slowest pace since 2019, Redfin reported. Growth in the number of renter households hit a peak of 2.8% in Q1 2024, the largest annual gain since 2015.
Relative growth in another metric, namely monthly housing costs, was a factor in the Y-O-Y growth of renters vs. homeowners. While the average asking rent is currently 23% above pre-pandemic levels, mortgage rates are now 90% higher than they were before the pandemic.
“The cost of both renting and buying a home has skyrocketed in recent years, but the affordability crunch isn’t quite as severe in the rental market,” said Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “That’s because America has been building a lot of apartments to keep pace with robust demand from renters. The country’s leaders should heed this lesson when considering how to improve affordability in the homebuying market; when there’s more housing to go around, prices don’t increase as fast.”
Source: connectcre.com
