Growth Projected for Upscale Rental Apartments

WASHINGTON, DC-A lot of attention is given to the rising rate of home ownership, but one of the fastest growing segments of the housing market over the past few years has been rental apartments for higher-income households. A new study commissioned by the National Multi Housing Council, headquartered here, notes that apartment households with real income above $50,000 per year has been growing at nearly 8% annually.

The report, Upscale Apartment Market: Trends and Prospects, notes that upscale renters are a disparate group. Approximately half of them are people for whom apartment life is a transition to a house or condominium, while 30% have chosen a rental as a long-term lifestyle. The former are older, live mostly in large cities and the Northeast and are often single women.