According to a Redfin report, the number of American renters increased by 1.9% year over year in the second quarter of 2024, reaching a record 45.2 million. This growth rate is three times that of homeowner households, which grew by 0.6% to a record 86.3 million. The report notes that renter household growth is at its second-fastest pace since 2021, while homeowner household growth has slowed to its lowest rate since 2019. In the first quarter of this year, renter household growth peaked at 2.8%, the largest gain since 2015. Over the past year, the U.S. added 855,000 renter households and new multifamily housing units increased at an annual rate of 563,000 as of the second quarter. Additionally, the first quarter of 2024 saw the fastest pace of new construction since 1994.
