More American households are now renting their homes than at any point since at least 1965, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of census data.
According to Pew, the number of U.S. households grew by 7.6 million over the latest decade. But the number of households that own their home has remained flat, while those that rent has increased. And it’s not just broke millennials renting:
Certain demographic groups – such as young adults, nonwhites and the lesser educated – have historically been more likely to rent than others, and rental rates have increased among these groups over the past decade. However, rental rates have also increased among some groups that have traditionally been less likely to rent, including whites and middle-aged adults.
Among households led by people between 35 and 44 years old, about 40 percent rent compared to 31 percent in 2006. Among people between 45 and 64, the percent renting grew from 22 to 28 percent. “All major racial and ethnic groups were more likely to rent in 2016 than a decade earlier,” Pew reports. And “the movement toward renting has also occurred across all levels of educational attainment.”
The data does not just underscore the economic reality facing people who might want to buy but can’t afford it. It also reminds us that tenant protections like those gaining traction in Portland—not to mention Seattle and New York City’s effort to guarantee low-income renters access to legal counsel to avoid eviction—are more important than ever. And it should remind elected officials the importance of making sure those protections actually work.
Tenant protections are BS nonsense. Only four states and D.C. even allow them at all, and guess which four states (and D.C.) consistently have the highest rents?
The consensus among economists and urban planners that rent control is harmful to everyone except current incumbent renters is the same level of consensus among scientists about man made climate change. Greedy tenants are just going to turn Portland into another Santa Monica or San Francisco.
The reason housing prices and rent prices are high is a lack of supply, thanks to bad zoning and NIMBYs restricting new development in popular areas. Fix that, and the problem will largely solve itself.