Contrary to popular imagination, not every millionaire owns a mansion. Indeed, new research published by RentCafe based on IPUMS data has determined that an increasing number of millionaires prefer rental housing.
Between 2019 and 2023, the number of renters and homeowners with incomes of $1 million and higher grew by 204% and 169%, respectively. Still, homeownership is mostly preferred by these wealthy households. During the 2019-2023 period, the number of renter households with an income of $1 million or more grew from 4,500 to 13,700. During the same period, the number of millionaire homeowners climbed from 52,966 to 142,320 households.
RentCafe noted that while traditional luxury living metros such as New York City and Los Angeles continue to attract millionaire renters, Southern metro areas have seen the most significant growth in wealthy renters – most notably in Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Miami. Millionaire millennials were more likely to rent, while millionaire Gen Xers mostly opted for homeownership.
In case you’re wondering who the millionaires in rental housing are, RentCafe’s report stated they were “running companies, writing software, practicing law along with various other high-paying occupations, ranging from financial analysts, real estate agents or even marketing and public relations.”
Photo courtesy Columbia Pictures
That’s why the rents are so high and thus unaffordable to regular people.
Heidi,
The number of millionaire tenants is miniscule (a small drop in a very large bucket) compared to the number of typical renters. I seriously doubt they have any impact on typical rents. Rents are driven by the same factors as they always have: insurance, maintenance, mortgage and tax costs. If the landlord can’t pay these then the landlord loses the property and the tenant is evicted. This includes maintenance but the tenant will typically move away and the landlord will have to reduce the rent if he/she can’t/won’t make repairs before code enforcement forces the issue. Remember I said typically!
BRILLIANT! THATS WHY THEY ARE WEALTHY…THEY KNOW WHAT TO DO IN THE UPCOMING MARKETS!
Most people with money, art stupid. You have to drop the prices. That’s it. Covid is over. Weather sellers do it now or later, it’s going to happen.