One in six renters stayed in their home for 10 years or more in 2022, up from 13.9% a decade earlier, according to a new report from real estate brokerage Redfin.
In addition, 16.4% of renters lived in their home for five to nine years in 2022, up from 14% a decade earlier. The lion’s share of renters, 41.8%, stayed put for one to four years in 2022, a slight increase from 39.9% a decade earlier.
According to Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari, this uptick in tenure is beneficial for renters and their landlords.
“While the fact that people are staying longer in their rentals may mean they can’t afford to buy a home in today’s market, staying put also means they’re saving money that could eventually go toward a down payment if they do have a goal of homeownership,” he said. “Staying in the same home means they’re likely to face smaller rent increases, and they’re saving money on moving costs and application fees. Landlords typically prefer long-term tenants because they don’t have to spend the money on cleaning and marketing vacant units.”
The Redfin report pointed to several factors about why renters are staying put longer, including the soaring cost of homeownership, the decrease in homes for sale, the increase in rents since the pandemic, and the rise in renting as a lifestyle.
While renters moved less often than they did a decade ago, they are changing residences more often than homeowners. The Redfin report found that 20.8% of renters moved nationwide in 2022, down from 28.9% in 2012, while only 7.6% of homeownership moved in 2022, up slightly from 6.4% in 2012.
Bokhari noted that renter tenure decline could be on the horizon, with the increase of new multifamily units coming online providing additional options for renters and cooling rent growth.
When it comes to demographics, baby boomer renters are more likely to stay put for 10-plus years, while Gen Z renters are more likely to move within a year.
Roughly one-third of baby boomer renters have lived in their home for 10-plus years in 2022, while another third have remained for one to four years. In addition, 21.5% of baby boomer renters have lived in their home for five to nine years.
Nearly 40% of Generation X renters remained in their home between one and four years, while roughly 22% stayed for five to nine years and another 22% stayed for 10-plus years.
Just over half of millennial renters lived in their residences for one to four years, while roughly 20% remained for five-plus years.
The youngest generation, Gen Z, saw just under 4% of renters living in the same place for over five years.
Renters stayed put the longest in New York, where only 15.8% moved in 12 months or less in 2022, followed by Riverside, California, and Los Angeles. According to Redfin, this can partially be attributed to the high cost of buying a home or signing a new lease.
On the other side of the spectrum, renters moved most often in the high-supply market of Austin, Texas, with 38.2% of renters staying put for 12 months or less in 2022, followed by Denver and Nashville, Tennessee.
