Renting Gets Glamorous

A study by the Federal Reserve of Boston’s Center for Behavioral Economics, released in October, says that the number of young people who believe owning a house is better than renting has dropped over the last three years as the economy stalled. In recent years, experts say that renting has gained respectability among young professionals, with “The Great Reset” author and futurist Richard Florida noting, “Multifamily is the only game in town.”

Cultural changes are driving the shift toward renting, with people marrying later and placing more value on travel, clothes, and other items, according to Dallas developer Lucy Crow Billingsly, daughter of real estate tycoon Trammel Crow. Billingsly’s Austin Ranch community in North Dallas has a 95 percent occupancy rate, prompting a 15 percent jump in new rents this year.

Tighter mortgage standards and rising foreclosures also are pushing people to rent. Young professionals do not want to be unable to sell a house and therefore unable to take advantage of a new job opportunity. Keri Walsh, a 28-year-old teacher who has rented a one-bedroom unit in Austin Ranch for the last four years, says, “There’s no stigma to renting anymore and there’s just so much to keep you interested and busy here.”

From “Real Estate Trends: Renting Gets Glamorous” http://bit.ly/seJKZA

Daily Beast (12/16/11) Hass, Nancy