And despite its emphasis on the financial sector, New York—which S&P lumps in with Northern New Jersey, Westchester, Connecticut and Long Island—has been “surprisingly resilient,” Blitzer added. “There are increasing amounts of technology-related employment showing up,” he says. “Once you include the Tri-State Area, it is a little more diverse and a little less overly dependent on finance, and that has helped.”

On a national level, Mark Obrinsky, VP of research and chief economist at the Washington, DC-based National Multi Housing Council, tells GlobeSt.com that the poor investment performance of single-family homes has “taken a big bite” out of the demand for homeownership, which has led to a higher—and more sustained—renter population. “In part, a good portion of the bubble-induced home prices were the result of overly optimistic expectations of how well single family homes would do as an investment,” Obrinsky says. “We’ve now pretty much wiped out that part of the market, both people looking to primarily make money on homes as an investment. It also reinforces in people’s minds the notion that even if you do want to become a homeowner at some point, there is no rush. Home prices aren’t going away from you and this is not a decision you need to rush into. You could take your time and continue to rent.”

In the apartment industry, Obrinsky says move-outs to home ownership is much lower than it was five to seven years ago. “People tend to stay renting longer,” he says. “They may move to different apartments, but moving out to buy a house is much lower than it was in the first half of the previous decade.”

He adds that qualifying for a mortgage is harder than it used to be due to the need for a more substantial down payment. “But even for those who have a sufficient down payment, the fact that prices are not only not going up, they look like they are going down again,” Obrinsky says. “It acts as a deterrent.”

To read the full S&P report, click here.