An expected slowdown in the pace of home value growth in a number of pricey, fast-moving markets means it may take longer going forward to break even financially when buying a home in those areas compared to renting it.
Renting
December 2016 Market Report: What Could Flattening Rents Mean for 2017?
A months-long streak of accelerating home value growth was met with an equally long stretch of flattening rents to end 2016, a trend with interesting implications for the housing market as a whole as attention turns to the busy 2017 home shopping season to come.
Experts: Short-Term Home Rentals Have Little to No Impact on Housing Affordability
The growing presence of short-term room and home rental services like Airbnb and HomeAway are not impacting the overall supply or affordability of rental housing in a meaningful and large way, according to experts, though some smaller effects may be felt in certain markets or segments.
What Distinguishes the Markets Renters Want to Move to From the Markets Renters Want to Leave
The (real or imagined) allure of greener pastures beyond the horizon is a near-constant theme in the American national imagination, and regional migration – the movement of people across the country – is among the most important drivers of local differences in housing demand and desirability. And in the simplest sense, areas with lots of people looking to leave can often be considered less desirable, while markets with lots of people eager to move in are likely more desirable. But not always.
The Days of Our Lives: How Long Does it Take for Low and High-Income Renters to Find a Home?
On average, renters spend 10.4 weeks on the market searching for a rental home or apartment according to Zillow Group’s 2016 Consumer Housing Trends Report. But renters in tighter rental markets can spend significantly longer searching for a home – and lower-income renters often spend longer still, even in more balanced markets.
Annual growth in median rents nationwide has slowed considerably from last summer’s breakneck pace, offering some relief to renters struggling to pay less money to their landlords and put more money into savings for a home purchase. But just because rental growth is slowing down, doesn’t mean it’s not still growing – and incredibly quickly – in some of the nation’s hottest markets, according to the Zillow Rent Forecast, contributing to continued affordability concerns.
Rent Affordability by Tier: High Rents Aren’t a Problem If You Earn Enough to Afford them
As growth in rents outpaces growth in incomes, rent affordability (the share of the typical American’s income that goes to rent) has steadily deteriorated over the past five years – from a historic average of 26 percent, to roughly 30 percent currently. But focusing only on medians can sometimes hide more than it reveals. In this case, there are sharply different trends at the top and at the bottom of the market.
Renters by Choice or Circumstance? Many Big-City Renters Earn Enough to Buy
The homeownership rate has steadily declined to generational lows over the past decade, pushing a broader-than-ever swath of Americans from all social and economic backgrounds into the rental market – including a large share that could likely afford to buy a home, but aren’t.
Own-to-Rent: The Foreclosure Crisis and Single-Family Home Rentals
Once strongly associated with homeownership, a growing share of single-family homes are now being rented. And by extension, more of the country’s rental market is now composed of single-family homes.
Zillow Rent Index by Tier: Low-End Demand, High-End Supply
As rent overall continues to grow, rents are growing faster across the board among low-end apartments as demand for more affordable rentals stays hot. But rather than build more units at the bottom end of the market to meet this demand, apartment developers have instead focused their efforts on adding more supply at the high end.
