Renting Has Reached Its Peak In The U.S.

The rental market is becoming a little less congested.

Conor Sen of BloombergView writes that the nation is coming down from a generational peak in renting. The number of homeowner households went up by 1.26 million in June, and the number of renter households decreased for the first time since 2004.

The shift is possibly due to demographics: The 30- to 44-year-old population is increasing, and people in that age range are typically getting married, having kids, and buying homes. Meanwhile, the 20-29 population, a common age for renters, isn’t rising as fast, creating the imbalance.

While it will be easier and cheaper for renters to find a home, prospective buyers will continue to have difficulties finding homes. A shortage of available homes and competition among buyers will drive up demand.

To accommodate the demand, builders will need to put up a lot more new homes than they have over the past decade. ... This will particularly benefit the suburbs and exurbs of large metro areas that have seen outsized population growth in the current economic expansion. That's where land is cheap, even though commutes to job centers might be longer.

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