Has America become a nation of renters instead of typial homeowners?
If the the data gathered from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies is an indication, then it seems so. Another surprise is that it is not because of Millennials. 20-somethings still compose the largest single cohort of renters, the 40-plus crowd now accounts for a majority of all renters, as per the study, highlighting the fact that the face of American renters is changing rapidly and perhaps unexpectedly.
According to Forbes, the increase in Millennial renters cannot really be compared to the surge in old renters in the last decade. But it must be noted that the number of renters below the age of 30 has also risen by nearly a million in the last decade. Think about comparing the 3 million more Gen X renters and 4.3 million more renters in their 50s and 60s over the same period...staggering number, isn't it?
"Rentership rates among gen-Xers and baby boomers are also rising, changing the traditional profile of the renter population," note the authors of the study conducted. "While the conventional image of renters is groups of young unrelated adults living together, these types of non-family households make up a relatively small share of all renters and their numbers have grown only modestly in the past 10 years."
One reason why the rise in Millennial renters is slow is the factor that many of the young people have remained living at their parents house which started drung the financial crisis in 2008-perhaps they saw it as a better option rather than renting a place of their own. It means that a throng of younger Millennials may yet become renters in the near future.
In related news, CNBC reports that there now 9 million more renters compared to ten yeas go, the highest jump in renters on record, and the rent is way more hight then before. It's a big burden especially for those just starting and have just entered the working industry.