Have you noticed how different renting is today from one or two decades ago? I think most of us would agree that renters were usually people in their 20s, renting mostly bare-bones dingy apartments with stinky carpeting and peeling windows in poorly-maintained old buildings until they saved enough to buy a place of their own. With some exceptions, this was the profile of the typical renter until recently.<\/p>\n
But the newest trends in apartment development are suddenly attracting a new kind of renter. This renter is interested to live in a place that offers a convenient, quality lifestyle, a comfortable living space, a place to exercise, and a place to socialize all-in-one. We were very interested to find out who exactly are these new renters and what motivates them to rent instead of buy.<\/p>\n
We turned to U.S. Census data to see if it can shed some light on how renting has evolved since 2009 — around the time when the scales\u00a0started tilting in favor of renting. We looked at changes in the number of renter households by age, education level, and family type.<\/p>\n
National stats\u00a0revealed that, between 2009 and 2015,\u00a0the biggest changes in the renting population came from\u00a0seniors aged\u00a055 or over (up by 28%)<\/strong>, compared to only a 3% increase in renters 34 or younger.\u00a0By education, the highest increases were in renters holding a bachelor degree or higher (up by 23%)<\/strong>, and by family type, in\u00a0families with no minor children (up by 21%)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n What do these three categories have in common? They all\u00a0point to one group:\u00a0empty-nest Baby-Boomers. Whether driven by a change in lifestyle, a consequence of the housing crash, or an inability to find affordable homes to downsize<\/a>, senior households are embracing renting in droves.<\/p>\n