More Americans are choosing to rent than at any other point in the last 50 years, according to a report by the Pew Research Center. In 2016, 36.6 percent of households rented their homes, just shy of the 37 percent recorded in 1965, data shows.
Overall, the number of U.S. households has increased by 7.6 million over the past decade. But while the number of homeowner households has remained relatively flat over that time period, the number of renter households has soared by 10 percent. “There is some evidence that increased student debt has made it more difficult for households headed by young adults to become homeowners,” Richard Fry, senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, told CNBC. Fry also notes that young adults may be struggling to save enough for a down payment on a house.
Adults ages 35 and younger continue to be the most likely of all age groups to rent, according to Pew’s findings. Sixty-five percent of households headed by young adults were renting in 2016. That is an 8 percentage point increase from 2006.
While renting is growing more popular, renters may not be completely happy about their living situation. Forty-one percent of renters recently surveyed by real estate site Trulia say they wish they had bought instead of rented. Further, renters are optimistic that their living situation will change in the future. Seventy-two percent of renters say they would like to buy a house at some point, according to the Pew survey.
Source: “There Are More Renters Than Any Time Since 1965,” CNBC (July 20, 2017)
