More Renters Are Staying Put Longer

Multiple factors are leading renters to remain in place for longer periods of time, a new study by Redfin shows.  It found that one in six, or 16.6%, of renters stayed in their home for 10 years or more in 2022, up from 13.9% a decade earlier. Other timelines were measured with similar results.

For instance, one in six (16.4%) lived in their home for five to nine years in 2022, up from 14% a decade earlier. However, the  lion’s share of renters stay put for one to four years. Just over two in five (41.8%) stayed in their home for one to four years in 2022, up from 39.9% a decade earlier.

The only category that showed a decrease were the renters that stayed in their units 12 months or less. In 2022, one-quarter, or 25.2% of renters, stayed in their home for 12 months or less before moving. That’s down from 32.2% in 2012.

One reason for the longer residency may be that renters save on costs. Staying in the same unit means they’re likely to face smaller rent increases, and they’re saving money on moving costs and application fees, according to Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “Landlords typically prefer long-term tenants because they don’t have to spend money on cleaning and marketing vacant units.”

Asking rental prices have also soared, increasing more than 20% since 2019, discouraging people from moving from one rental to another.

Other factors, though, are also having an impact. Many more renters are priced out of homeownership as the median U.S. home-sale price has more than doubled since 2012, rising more than 40% since 2019 alone. Meanwhile, mortgage rates are elevated near two-decade highs.

Also renting as a lifestyle is gaining traction, particularly since the pandemic when the rise in remote work encouraged people to relocate for jobs or lifestyle, which is easier to do when you are renting. Another category we do not hear much about but which Redfin highlighted are the renters that  choose to invest their money in places other than real estate. That increases renter tenure because those are the people who may have otherwise moved out of a rental into a home they purchased.

Where a renter lives also plays a role in how long they stay in a certain apartment or even city.

Redfin found that renters move most often in Austin, TX, where 38.2% of renters stayed put for 12 months or less in 2022. That’s the highest share of the 50 most populous US metros. Next come Denver (34.4%) and Nashville, TN (34.4%).

On the other end of the spectrum renters stay put longest in New York, where just 15.8% of renters moved in 12 months or less in 2022. Next come Riverside, CA (16.5%) and Los Angeles (17.5%). That’s partly because it’s expensive to buy a home or sign a new lease in those metros, discouraging renters from moving; staying put allows renters to stay in areas where there’s opportunity for jobs and desirable schools even if they cannot afford to buy a home.