Renters now outnumber owners in key U.S. cities. Is the real estate industry paying attention?
By: Michael Lucarelli | Published: 2025-07-23 08:47:00 | Source: www.housingwire.com
Manhattan? 75 percent renters. Miami? 69 percent. Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco? All north of 60 percent. Even booming tech and culture hubs like Austin (56 percent) and Chicago (54 percent) are now driven by renters, not owners, according to national data and an analysis by RentSpree Academy.
That means in some of the most dynamic markets in the U.S., owning a home is not the norm. Renting is, and that increasingly so. And yet, many multiple listing services, brokerages, and platforms are still structured around the single-family home sale, the same model used for decades.
The industry’s blind spot
The numbers paint a clear picture, but the industry often still acts like renters are a footnote. In truth, renters are the story. The majority in high-growth…
