Has the U.S. become a renter nation?

The United States has experienced changes in how people live and work. The younger generations are getting married and having children later in their lives, and this has caused a shift in the multifamily market.

“The term ‘renter nation’ is when we talk about and see the dramatic shift over the last 10 years from single-family and homeownership to multifamily,” says Bob Hart, president and CEO, founder, at TruAmerica Multifamily. “About 10 years ago, it was about 70 percent of households that were single family and only about 30 percent of households that were multifamily. Today, that number has shifted by 10 percent, and multifamily households comprise about 37 percent of the housing stock while single family has gone down to 63 percent.”

Hart continues to explain this rise in multifamily lifestyles has been caused by a shift in American values. In the previous recession, many people lost their homes and younger people watched their parents lose homes. You