• Gen Z and millennials are delaying homebuying, and more older adults are renting.
• High home prices and maintenance costs are making renting more appealing than buying for many.
• Wealthy people are also choosing the flexibility and amenities that come with renting.

Gen Zers and millennials are postponing buying their first home, a growing number of older people are renting, and tenants are staying in their rentals for longer. This adds up to a record-high number of renters and an increasing share of those renters in older generations.

"Renting today isn't just for young adults starting out," said Nadia Evangelou, a senior economist for the National Association of Realtors. "It's actually a much more mixed picture. Over the past decade, we have seen more older millennials and Gen Xers staying in rentals longer, and even some boomers, for example, opting to rent later in life."

The overall number of renters has grown over the last several years. There were 45.6 million renter-occupied housing units in the US in 2023, up from 39.7 million in 2010, based on the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

Are you renting a home longer than you thought you would, or have you become a renter again later in life? Share your experience with these reporters at [email protected] and [email protected].

The US is also seeing an uptick in older tenants. An Urban Institute projection found that the share of people 65 and older who rent their homes will grow from 22% in 2020 to 27% in 2040 — an additional 5.5 million renting households. Older Black renters will see the biggest jump, doubling in number between 2020 and 2040.

A smaller share of US renter-occupied housing units were headed by people under 35 years old in 2023 than in 2010. Meanwhile, the share of rental households headed by someone 65 or older grew over that period.

Renters are staying in their homes longer as well, per a Redfin analysis of Census Bureau data.

"Renting is becoming less of a short-term stop and more of a long-term reality for many households," Evangelou said.

Renting could be a smart financial move

The main reason people are renting for longer: the surging cost of homeownership. Home prices have soared across the country amid a housing shortage. At the same time, property taxes, home insurance, and home repair and maintenance costs are on the rise.

All of that has made renting a better deal than buying in many places — a reversal of the historic norm. Indeed, homebuyers purchasing starter homes in 50 major cities in 2024 spent over $1,000 more on housing costs each month than tenants do.

To be sure, many renters are struggling, too. Tenants' incomes aren't keeping up with rising housing costs, and a rising share of renters are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing.

Some Americans are renting for longer by choice. Rich renters are on the rise. Many millionaire millennials and boomers with healthy savings, who could afford to buy a home, are opting instead to rent. They like the flexibility of a lease, the convenience of having a landlord handle home maintenance, and the amenities luxury rentals offer, like in-building doggy day care, dry cleaning, and yoga classes.

"I think of renting as paying for a service, and liken it to a hotel," start-up founder Tori Dunlap, a 30-year-old multimillionaire, told BI last year. "Renting is flexible, and I don't have to worry about things that homeowners worry about, like committing to a particular place or neighborhood or dealing with a burst pipe."

Some of these affluent renters opt instead to keep their money in the market or other more flexible, higher-return investments.

"People are reevaluating whether or not they want their homes to be their asset wealth-builder," Doug Ressler, an analyst at Yardi Matrix, part of the property-management software firm Yardi, said. He added that higher-income tenants "want to have the freedom and mobility of time, and they don't want to be saddled with the things that a house brings with it."

Some financial advisors are also challenging the conventional wisdom that buying a home is a smarter financial decision than renting.

"You've been lied to about buying property," Ramit Sethi, a popular financial advisor and star of the Netflix show "How to get rich," said in a 2023 video titled "Why I Don't Own a House as a Multi-Millionaire."

Sethi recommends that those who buy a home take into account the "phantom" costs of maintenance, repairs, insurance, and buying and selling fees, and urges them to maintain diverse investments.

• US home sales hit rock bottom in 2023 and 2024.
• Trump's tariffs are keeping mortgage rates high and sales depressed.
• But there's a silver lining for buyers in this tough market: less competition from other home hunters.

It's been difficult to sell a home for so long now that sellers are starting to get desperate.

It's a bittersweet picture for housing affordability because it may mean some power is shifting back toward buyers.

"With the passage of time, you essentially have some people really needing to move, despite the higher mortgage rates," NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, told BI. "Changes in life circumstances — marriages, divorces, looking for a better school district, a new job in a different location, or a death in the family — all these life-changing events are constantly occurring, and they accumulate."

However, fewer existing homes were sold last year than in any year since 1995, according to the National Association of Realtors. For buyers, that presents a silver lining for affordability: A pent-up desire among homeowners to sell is helping reduce competition among buyers. For those buyers who can — or must — brave the market, power seems to be shifting in their favor as listings rise relative to the number of house hunters.

While home prices are still trending upwards in tight housing markets across the Northeast, Midwest, and Southern California, they're falling in many markets in the South and Southwest. Price cuts, particularly in the South and West, are becoming more common, and the length of time the typical US home sat on the market — an indicator that prices may continue to soften — has risen for almost a full year, Realtor.com reported.

Homebuyers are "not getting into bidding wars as often," Daryl Fairweather, Redfin's chief economist, told BI. "Because there are fewer buyers, they have more negotiating power."

The way things are going, she added, some sellers will need to cut their asking prices. But that doesn't mean they won't get a good deal. Home prices are still 45% higher than they were just before the pandemic, according to Redfin.

Are you putting your move on hold or struggling to sell or buy a home? Share your story with this reporter at [email protected].

An uncertain future

After home prices soared amid the pandemic and the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates in 2022, many homeowners who'd bought or refinanced during the period of super-low mortgage rates in 2020 and 2021 opted to stay put. US home sales hit rock bottom in 2023 and 2024, as prices stayed high.

Although the "lock-in" effect is easing, housing affordability is expected to stay dismal in many markets across the country this year.

Before the 2024 election, economists and housing researchers expected cooling inflation and interest rate cuts to boost home sales in 2025. But President Donald Trump's tariff threats and other federal policy changes have scrambled that picture, creating uncertainty that is keeping mortgage rates elevated and buyers out of the market. Now, it looks like mortgage rates are staying closer to 7% rather than cooling off as hoped.

While we're still waiting to see the full impacts of major federal policy shifts on the housing market, consumers are already reacting. Consumer housing sentiment is down year-over-year for the first time since 2023, driven by the belief that mortgage rates won't come down as quickly as previously thought, according to new data from Fannie Mae. While the percentage of people who said it's a good time to buy a home rose from 22% to 24%, the portion who said it's a good time a sell a home fell from 63% to 62%.

"If you're not sure what's going to happen in the US economy, then you probably don't want to make a massive financial decision," Hannah Jones, an economic research analyst at Realtor.com, told BI.

Broader consumer sentiment has plummeted under Trump, falling 22% since December, according to recent data from the University of Michigan. Consumers expect inflation to rise over the next year, and their confidence in the job market, stock market, and their own personal finances is down.

It's still possible this could all change. If Trump lifts his tariffs, inflation subsides, and the economy remains resilient, mortgage rates could come down and we could see a housing market recovery, Fairweather said.

"We're kind of in this in-between time, intercession if you will," she said. "There's maybe like a 20% chance that everything turns around in time for the spring season."

• Rent growth has been accelerating in recent months, though prices are still in check.
• Apartment affordability could get stretched during a seasonally busy spring.
• Here are a dozen large US cities where rent is becoming more affordable.

Tenants should be on guard, as a brief winter slowdown in the rental market may end soon.

Rent growth rose on a year-over-year basis at the fastest pace in over 12 months in February, according to fresh rental data from listings site Zumper. One-bedroom fixtures were 2.9% more expensive than last year at $1,525, and two-bedroom units surged 3.7% to $1,905. Last month, rent increased by 2.5% and 3.2%, respectively, compared to the start of 2024.

That swifter growth "is a nod to how much demand there is across the country, even at a time of record-high supply," said Zumper's Crystal Chen, who authored the report, in a message to Business Insider. Her firm said last summer that new apartment supply had hit a 50-year high.

Curiously, apartments were actually slightly cheaper this month than in January, when the median rate for one-bedroom setups was $1,534. The same was true last year, as going rates for one-bedroom apartments fell from $1,496 last January to $1,482 in February 2024.

But renters shouldn't count on more affordable apartments — in fact, the opposite may be true.

Back-to-back years of rent sliding from January to February could simply mean that more leases end in the first month of the year. A smaller pool of tenants deciding to move or re-up could translate to softer rental demand, which would temporarily cause apartment prices to pull back.

However, that relief likely won't last long, as price growth resumed in March before taking off in the late spring and early summer. Either way, the difference in median rents at the national level was just a few dollars in either direction, which is unlikely to be a major tipping point.

"Rents staying pretty flat on a monthly basis is pretty on trend with this time of year," Chen told BI. "Winter months see lower rental demand, so even as some leases end, limited competition keeps prices relatively stable until the busier spring and summer seasons."

12 top cities for deal-minded renters

Apartment prices in the 100 largest US cities that Zumper tracks each month foreshadow what's ahead for shelter inflation, which rose at the slowest rate in three years in January. But Zumper researchers are wary of leaning on lagging indicators more than their proprietary price data.

"Although shelter inflation has eased in recent months, its lagging nature — due to the way it's calculated — means the full impact has yet to be realized," said Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades in a statement for the report. He added: "The annual rent increases seen in our most recent data are likely to be reflected in CPI metrics over the coming months."

More than two-thirds of the biggest US rental markets experienced rent increases in February, up from just under that mark in January. Price hikes were most prevalent in regions with fewer available apartments, like the Northeast and Midwest, Chen remarked.

Conversely, higher-inventory cities in the once-trendy Sun Belt region saw some of the largest drops, though those declines were tempered relative to early 2024.

Business Insider analyzed Zumper's latest rental data and found a dozen cities where rent for one-bedroom apartments is both below the national median of $1,525 and down more than 1% from February 2024. Below are those 12 cities, along with their median rent, year-over-year and month-over-month rent changes, and the cost savings for renters versus the national median.

1. Durham, North Carolina

One-bedroom median rent: $1,340

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -7.6%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: 3.9%

Cost savings vs national median: $194

2. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

One-bedroom median rent: $1,000

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -4.8%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: 0%

Cost savings vs national median: $534

3. Charlotte, North Carolina

One-bedroom median rent: $1,420

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -4.7%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: -1.4%

Cost savings vs national median: $114

4. Baltimore, Maryland

One-bedroom median rent: $1,290

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -4.4%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: 0%

Cost savings vs national median: $244

5. Orlando, Florida

One-bedroom median rent: $1,490

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -3.9%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: 0.7%

Cost savings vs national median: $44

6. Boise, Idaho

One-bedroom median rent: $1,300

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -3.7%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: 0%

Cost savings vs national median: $234

7. Austin, Texas

One-bedroom median rent: $1,450

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -3.3%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: -1.4%

Cost savings vs national median: $84

8. Las Vegas, Nevada

One-bedroom median rent: $1,210

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -2.4%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: 0.8%

Cost savings vs national median: $324

9. Knoxville, Tennessee

One-bedroom median rent: $1,290

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -2.3%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: -3%

Cost savings vs national median: $244

10. Irving, Texas

One-bedroom median rent: $1,270

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -1.6%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: 1.6%

Cost savings vs national median: $264

11. Glendale, Arizona

One-bedroom median rent: $1,200

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -1.6%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: 5.3%

Cost savings vs national median: $334

12. Minneapolis, Minnesota

One-bedroom median rent: $1,290

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -1.5%

One-bedroom month-over-month rent change: -2.3%

Cost savings vs national median: $244

• Rents have soared in some major cities as return-to-office mandates go into effect.
• However, buying isn't an option for many young people since mortgage rates are high.
• Here are 11 cities with falling rent and plenty of entertainment options.

Scoring an enticing deal on an apartment doesn't have to mean settling for a boring city.

Many of the most popular spots among young people, from the New York City metro area to the Bay Area, are already astonishingly expensive — and prices only seem to be going higher.

New York, San Francisco, Jersey City, and San Jose were all among the five most expensive cities for renters in January, real-estate site Zumper recently found. Rents surged 5.9% from early 2024 in New York and between 7.1% and 11% in the Bay, though Jersey City's rent fell.

There are several reasons millennials and Gen Zers have flocked back to expensive cities since the pandemic. Some crave social connections, while others are increasingly required to by their employers after years of remote work. This latter reason may be the best explanation for why rents are surging in these major cities, which happen to be home to top tech companies.

"With the growing popularity of hybrid work among employers, as well as many large tech companies enforcing return-to-office policies of up to five days a week, many tech workers who may have previously left the Bay Area have likely made their way back," Zumper researcher Crystal Chen wrote in a late-January report.

Although the winter rental market is often quieter, as shown by slight rent declines from late last year, Zumper found that nationwide rents rose 2.5% and 3.2% for one- and two-bedroom units, respectively. Rents rose in 63 of the 100 largest US metropolitan areas that Zumper tracks, and a startlingly high 39 of those cities saw rent take off by more than 4%.

"The US has a ton of rental demand," Chen said in an interview, noting that high mortgage rates have sidelined many homebuyers. "Although we did have that 50-year-high of new supply last year, the demand will probably catch up to the amount of new supply that hit the market."

11 appealing cities for young workers

However, living in a large city with a bustling social scene won't necessarily break the bank.

While some may associate cheaper rent with sleepy towns that aren't in high demand, there are a number of cities well-suited for young professionals where rent is on the decline.

Business Insider analyzed Zumper's rental data and found 11 cities where one-bedroom rents have fallen 5% or more from early 2024. Eight are cheaper than the US median price of $1,534.

Each has a median age below the US-wide level of 38.5 years old, based on the latest US census data, and got an "A+" or "A" score in reviews site Niche's "good for young professionals" ranking. These cities have a slew of bars, restaurants, and other social hubs, and 10 of the 11 are home to at least one major professional sports team.

Below are each of those cities top cities for young people, along with the median rent and year-over-year rent growth for one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as the median age and ranking in the "good for young professionals" category from Niche.

1. Durham, North Carolina

One-bedroom median rent: $1,290

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -12.8%

Two-bedroom median rent: $1,530

Two-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -12.1%

Median age: 34.7 years old

Top for young professionals ranking: 61

2. Chicago, Illinois

One-bedroom median rent: $1,930

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -11.1%

Two-bedroom median rent: $2,460

Two-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -9.6%

Median age: 35.3 years old

Top for young professionals ranking: 21

3. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

One-bedroom median rent: $1,000

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -10.7%

Two-bedroom median rent: $1,160

Two-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -0.9%

Median age: 31.8 years old

Top for young professionals ranking: 110

4. Cleveland, Ohio

One-bedroom median rent: $1,200

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -9.8%

Two-bedroom median rent: $1,250

Two-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -9.4%

Median age: 36.3 years old

Top for young professionals ranking: 105

5. Nashville, Tennessee

One-bedroom median rent: $1,600

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -7.5%

Two-bedroom median rent: $1,800

Two-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -6.3%

Median age: 34.6 years old

Top for young professionals ranking: 56

6. Orlando, Florida

One-bedroom median rent: $1,480

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -6.3%

Two-bedroom median rent: $1,780

Two-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -4.3%

Median age: 34.7 years old

Top for young professionals ranking: 29

7. Charlotte, North Carolina

One-bedroom median rent: $1,440

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -5.9%

Two-bedroom median rent: $1,740

Two-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -4.4%

Median age: 34.5 years old

Top for young professionals ranking: 45

8. Baltimore, Maryland

One-bedroom median rent: $1,290

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -5.8%

Two-bedroom median rent: $1,600

Two-bedroom year-over-year rent change: 0%

Median age: 36 years old

Top for young professionals ranking: 95

9. Boston, Massachusetts

One-bedroom median rent: $2,830

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -5.7%

Two-bedroom median rent: $3,470

Two-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -2.5%

Median age: 32.9 years old

Top for young professionals ranking: 6

10. Minneapolis, Minnesota

One-bedroom median rent: $1,320

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -5%

Two-bedroom median rent: $1,800

Two-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -10%

Median age: 32.8 years old

Top for young professionals ranking: 8

11. Glendale, Arizona

One-bedroom median rent: $1,140

One-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -5%

Two-bedroom median rent: $1,440

Two-bedroom year-over-year rent change: -3.4%

Median age: 34.1 years old

Top for young professionals ranking: 70

• Apartment prices didn't move much in November, but they may slide in early 2025.
• Landlords tend to cut prices during the winter, and some are even giving unusual perks.
• Here are 12 cities where rent is affordable and on the decline.

Fewer people are moving during a seasonally slow stretch in the rental market, but those who are looking for a new apartment soon may be in luck.

Rent was flat or down across the US in November, a recent report from real-estate site Zumper found. The cost of one-bedroom apartments was little changed for a fourth straight month at $1,534, while two-bedroom setups were modestly cheaper, down 0.4% from October at $1,902.

These findings suggest that the long-standing stalemate on price between landlords and tenants is dragging on, though the path of least resistance may be lower later in the coming months.

"Most renters who were planning to move this year have already done so, and property owners tend to price down units to fill vacancies before the holidays," Zumper's team wrote in the report.

So, while softer demand and limited apartment supply have offset each other, property managers hoping to be fully booked may have to cut prices or get creative with concessions. One such perk — unusual as it may sound — is free groceries for a year, Zumper researchers noted.

"We anticipate that national rents will continue to see modest declines through the rest of this year and likely into the beginning of next year as well," Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades said in a statement for the report.

Even if renters score savings this winter, apartment prices remain 2.3% to 2.5% higher than they were a year ago, according to Zumper. However, that's still below the official inflation rate of 2.6% and well under the 4.9% jump in the shelter price index.

"Easing inflationary pressures could drive further declines to national rent prices and pave the way for additional interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve," Zumper researchers wrote.

12 cities with attractively priced apartments

Although the national rate for one-bedroom rent didn't budge this month, there are a dozen midsize or large US cities where apartments are reasonably priced and heading down.

Below are the 12 cities where rent was at least $250 cheaper than the national median price of $1,534 in November and less expensive than 12 months ago. Along with each market are its year-over-year and month-over-month rent changes and its median rent, the savings compared to the national median, and its rank among the 100 top US real-estate markets.

1. Akron, Ohio

Year-over-year rent change: -1.3%

Month-over-month rent change: 0%

Median rent: $750

Savings vs national median: $784

National rent ranking: 99

2. Tucson, Arizona

Year-over-year rent change: -2.2%

Month-over-month rent change: 0%

Median rent: $900

Savings vs national median: $634

National rent ranking: 96

3. Albuquerque, New Mexico

Year-over-year rent change: -2.1%

Month-over-month rent change: 1.1%

Median rent: $930

Savings vs national median: $604

National rent ranking: 94

4. Spokane, Washington

Year-over-year rent change: -6.4%

Month-over-month rent change: -1.9%

Median rent: $1,030

Savings vs national median: $504

National rent ranking: 86

5. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Year-over-year rent change: -3.7%

Month-over-month rent change: 0%

Median rent: $1,040

Savings vs national median: $494

National rent ranking: 84

6. Arlington, Texas

Year-over-year rent change: -2.7%

Month-over-month rent change: 0%

Median rent: $1,070

Savings vs national median: $464

National rent ranking: 81

7. Kansas, City, Missouri

Year-over-year rent change: -2.7%

Month-over-month rent change: 0.9%

Median rent: $1,100

Savings vs national median: $434

National rent ranking: 74

8. Las Vegas, Nevada

Year-over-year rent change: -4%

Month-over-month rent change: -0.8%

Median rent: $1,190

Savings vs national median: $344

National rent ranking: 70

9. Jacksonville, Florida

Year-over-year rent change: -5.5%

Month-over-month rent change: -1.6%

Median rent: $1,200

Savings vs national median: $334

National rent ranking: 67

10. Houston, Texas

Year-over-year rent change: -4.6%

Month-over-month rent change: -0.8%

Median rent: $1,240

Savings vs national median: $294

National rent ranking: 65

11. Raleigh, North Carolina

Year-over-year rent change: -3.8%

Month-over-month rent change: 0.8%

Median rent: $1,250

Savings vs national median: $284

National rent ranking: 62

12. Fort Worth, Texas

Year-over-year rent change: -2.3%

Month-over-month rent change: 0.8%

Median rent: $1,270

Savings vs national median: $264

National rent ranking: 59