Data from a recent RENTCafe study, “The Dream on Hold,” is showing more families are being squeezed into rental properties. Over the last decade, homeownership by families, or people with minor children, declined by nearly 3.6 million, while the number of families living in rentals rose by 1.9 million. CBS News' Ed Leefeldt spoke with RENTCafe analyst Nadia Balint who placed the blame on lending rules, the shortage of entry-level homes, and high home prices.
More families still own homes rather than rent by a margin of about three-to-two, but the trend has moved toward renting during the last decade as families lost homes to foreclosure or were "unable to overcome the financial barriers to become homeowners," said Balint. As of 2016, the U.S. had more than 14 million renter households with children, up nearly 2 million from 2006, just before the Great Recession.
Of course, 10 years is just "a blip on the radar" for the housing market, she admitted, and people have other reasons to rent. One is that families are smaller and their need for a big home in the suburbs as opposed to a two-bedroom apartment is less -- at least until the family grows. And that's taking longer as mothers delay having children. Children are also costing more to raise, forcing families to economize on expenses such as lawns, plants and gardens.
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