Why Seniors’ Share of Renters Is Soaring
According to a report by Point2Homes, the increase is not just because baby boomers are such a large cohort, columnist Lew Sichelman writes.
Seniors age 65 and over may remember the Twist, the popular Chubby Checker dance anthem of the early 1960s. Today, though, oldsters are performing a new twist, this one turning away from single-family houses and into the rental market.
Between 2013 and 2023, according to the most recent Census Bureau data, the number of renters 65 or older increased by a dazzling 2.4 million. That, says a new report from Point2Homes, is the “largest growth of any age group by far.”
The only other age cohort to see an increase in rentership was adults 55 to 64. But the growth rate there was five times smaller than that of seniors.
The shift not only echoes the broader aging of America, the report advises, it also “may signal a new approach to housing as more seniors enter the next chapter of their lives.”
The 30 percent increase in senior renters over the 2013-2023 decade also reflects other market dynamics such as high mortgage costs, downsizing and the desire to move closer to family, to be sure. But it also mirrors such later-in-life changes as becoming empty nesters or widowed, divorcing or simply seeking greater flexibility along with less maintenance.
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Not only are seniors choosing apartment rentals, they also are going for single-family houses. House renters over 65 surged 25 percent during the study period. The appeal, says the Point2 report, lies in the desire for extra space for hobbies, quieter surroundings and room for visiting family, all without the headaches of ownership.
On the flip side, the data shows that young and mid-life Americans are renting less than their counterparts did a decade back. The number of renters 24 and under declined by roughly 9 percent, nearly as much as those aged 45 to 54.
The nation’s youngest adults might go for student housing, living with family or delaying renting altogether, according to the report, while mid-life renters are influenced by remote work, downsizing or other changing life stages.
Consequently, it advises, “as the traditional and costly path to home ownership gives way to new priorities, it’s the older crowd that’s redefining what rentership looks like in the United States.”
Seniors chasing the sun
Understandably, as the nation as a whole gravitates to warmer climes, so do senior renters chase the sun as they head into the next chapter of their lives. For example, Baton Rouge, La., experienced an 89 percent increase in senior renters.
But Florida was unrivaled. Solidifying the state’s status as perhaps the No. 1 choice for seniors, they make up 21 percent of renters Sarasota-Bradenton and 18.5 percent in Ft. Myers.
Larger metropolitan areas also hold some appeal for senior renters, largely for their sheer size and broader array of rental options. Major hubs like New York City and Los Angeles stand out, Point2 found. There are 275,900 more seniors renting nowadays than the number of seniors renting a decade ago in the Big Apple, while the LA metro added more than 141,000.
Even as seniors are turning more and more to renting, younger people are turning away from it, the data also showed. They still constitute for the largest slice of the market, to be sure, with those age 25-to-34 making up 27% of all renters. But the number of renters within this age group actually declined by 1.1% compared to the start of the decade.
In terms of generations, this demographic encompasses older Gen Zers and young Millennials, both reaching the stage where they seek stability but find ownerhsip affordability challenging, to say the least.
The older 35–to-44 crowd—another age group facing rising costs and an uncertain housing landscape— experienced a similarly symbolic dip that adds to a broader cooling trend, the report said: “Rentership within all younger age brackets has declined at the national level.”
