Renting a home or apartment used to be a marker of youth, but a December study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University says otherwise.
The number of US households that are renting is at the highest level since the mid-1960's with 37 percent of all households renting.
While the millennial generation (born 1985 - 2004) are among the largest single group of renters, households 40 and up make up the majority of all renters. Baby boomers in particular (born 1946–1964) have sent rental rates soaring with an increase of 4.3 million renters in their 50s and 60s from 2005 to 2015.
Unfortunately, the boom in renters, both young and old, has drained the rental market. Vacancy rates in Atlanta fell from 10 percent in 2010 to 5 percent in 2015. Low supply and high demand means rents go up.
Even though the current rental market includes more high-income renters, there are many moderate to low-income renters who are straining to afford the rent and they come in all ages.
In 2014, more than 55 percent of renters age 65 and up struggled with rent compared to 62 percent of renters under age 25.
In Atlanta, the median monthly housing cost is $980, which may sound pretty affordable until you consider that almost 51 percent of all local renters are cost burdened.
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