SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Rental pool to grow by six million in next decade
Jun 13, 2013, 7:42 AM | Updated: Mar 4, 2016, 5:52 am
Since the housing crash in 2008, the number of renting households has soared. Within the next decade, five to six million new renter households are expected to be formed, according to the National Association of Realtors. (AP Photo/file)
(AP Photo/file)
Since the housing crash in 2008, the number of renting households has soared. Within the next decade, five to six million new renter households are expected to be formed, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Much of that increase may occur in the next two years. Within that time, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that renter households will grow from 38 million to 41 million.
Property management companies are booming, too. Officials with Real Property Management say the company has doubled in size over the past two years. The company has 230 offices in 47 states and adds an average of eight new franchises per month.
“Profound changes in the housing market have created significant demand for property management companies like ours,” Kirk McGary, CEO of Real Property Management, told HousingWire. “And it doesn’t look like that’s changing anytime soon.”
Wally Charnoff, CEO of RentRange, adds that location may be a big driver for renters. With a shortage of for-sale homes nowadays, some families are being driven to rent in order to be able to live in a specific neighborhood with good schools, he noted. “Institutional investors have provided a lot of readily available property,” he said.
However, he adds that rising mortgage rates may prompt more on-the-fence renters to jump into home ownership before housing affordability moves lower.
