The cost of owning a home is impacting the greater population. Redfin reports the number of renter households grew by 1.9% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to homeowners, who increased by 0.6%. According to the study, asking rents are up 23% from before the pandemic compared to mortgage payments, which are up 90%.
There are 45.2 million renter households and 86.3 million homeowner households in Q2. Renter household growth peaked in the first quarter of 2024 at 2.8%. And this is the third straight quarter with renter households outpacing homeowners.
“The cost of both renting and buying a home has skyrocketed in recent years, but the affordability crunch isn’t quite as severe in the rental market," said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari in a release. "That’s because America has been building a lot of apartments to keep pace with robust demand from renters."
While renter households grew by 855,000 during the past year, so too has the construction of apartment communities. Multifamily housing units are being added at their second-fastest rate since 1994, with the first-fastest in Q1 2024.
At a local level, Los Angeles has the most renters with 53% of the market. San Diego is a close second with a 52.4% rentership rate, and New York City was the lone other rentership rent of at least 50%. Worcester, Mass., and North Port, Fla., were the metros with the highest homeownership rate at more than 76%. The national average is 34.4% rentership rate and 65.6% homeownership rate.