A new report from Redfin has found that the number of renter households in America increased 0.8% year-over-year to 45.4 million in Q4, marking the slowest growth since Q1 of 2023. The number of homeowner households rose 0.8% to 86.9 million—a growth rate that’s little changed from recent quarters.
Q4 of 2024 marks the first time in more than a year that the number of renter and homeowner households are increasing at the same rate. Prior to this, the number of renter households had been growing faster for four consecutive quarters.
A renter household is defined as one where the head of the household reports to the Census that they are renting out the property, while a homeowner household is one where the head of household reports they own the property.
Home prices are more than 40% above pre-pandemic levels, while rent prices are roughly 20% above pre-pandemic levels. This is one reason why the rentership rate has recently been rising faster than the homeownership rate. The rental market has seen an influx of supply over the last few years, helping to keep rent growth at bay.
Many prospective homebuyers remain on the sidelines, still faced with affordability issues and overall economic uncertainty. Redfin reported that in February 2025, U.S. home prices were up 3.1% year-over-year, selling for a median price of $425,249. On average, the number of homes sold was down 5.7% year-over-year and there were 324,200 homes sold in February this year, down 343,754 homes sold in February last year.
Mortgage rates remain near the 7% mark, furthering affordability issues for many, as Fannie Mae’s latest forecast predicts that 30-year mortgage rates will inch down to 6.60% by the end of 2025. Its forecast for 2026 has rates falling to 6.50%.
“Owning a home used to be the crux of the American dream, and while many still consider it a rite of passage, a lot of people are opting to rent for longer because they can’t afford to buy a place of their own,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “Even people who can afford to buy homes are choosing leases over mortgages, often because they want a flexible, low-maintenance lifestyle, or want to invest their money somewhere other than real estate. Affluent renters have become more common in nearly three-quarters of major metros since 2019.”
Where Are Renters in the Majority?
Slightly more than one-third (34.3%) of U.S. households rent, while nearly two-thirds (65.7%) own—rates that have remained pretty steady over time. But the rentership rate is much higher in pricey coastal metros.
In New York, 51.9% of households rented in Q4—the highest share among the 75 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. New York was followed by:
- Los Angeles, California (51.5%)
- Albany, New York (48.4%)
- Fresno, California (48.3%)
- San Francisco, California (46.2%)
Rentership rates tend to be highest in places where it’s expensive to buy a home. All but two of the metros previously listed (Fresno and Albany) have median home sale prices above the national level. In Q4 2024, Redfin reported a median home sale price of $383,725—a 6% increase year-over-year. A recent Redfin report found that pricey coastal markets have the highest share of wealthy renters, as nearly three-quarters of the most populous U.S. metros (35 out of 50) have seen wealthy renters consume a bigger piece of the rental-market pie in recent years, led by Raleigh, North Carolina and Orlando, Florida.
Renting is least common in places with relatively low home sale prices. For example, in Cape Coral, Florida, 15.5% of households rent—the lowest share among the metros Redfin analyzed—followed by Dayton, Ohio (21.2%); Toledo, Ohio (21.9%); Columbia, South Carolina (22%); and North Port, Florida (22.3%).
Click here for more on an examination of Redfin’s rental trends in Q4.
