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.
As Rents and Home Values Rise in Many Markets, Is Tech Industry Really to Blame?
There is certainly a reason that many people associate the tech industry with pricey and unaffordable housing. In metropolitan areas with a large share of tech workers, rents and home values are considerably higher. But the reality is that expensive housing often follows in areas where a good share of individuals are earning high wages – whether they work in tech, finance, law, or any number of other industries associated with hefty paychecks.
A Crack in the Code: Why Even Some Tech-Employed Renters Can’t Find Affordable Housing
Just because the average tech renter is doing OK, we shouldn’t think everyone in the field is having an easy time making ends meet.
Rising rents, low interest rates and strong expected home value growth make buying a home instead of renting it an increasingly attractive financial option for those who can afford to do so.
Luxury Apartment Rent Growth Slowing
After growing at a blistering pace for much of 2015, apartment rents across the county are growing at a slower pace thus far in 2016 – and the slowdown has been particularly dramatic on luxury apartment rent in higher-end ZIP codes.
