There are dog people; there are cat people. There are sprinters; there are marathoners. There are cyclists and there's everyone else. City. Country. Wine. Beer. Team Jake. Team Fitz. You get the picture. And of course, there are the renters and there are the buyers.
Home ownership has long been considered as crucial to the fabric of American society as dairy products and Daylight Savings Time. "For a man who owns his home acquires with it a new dignity," Senator Charles Percy said in 1966. "He begins to take pride in what is his own, and pride in conserving and improving it for his children...The mere act of becoming a homeowner transforms him. It gives him roots, a sense of belonging, a true stake in his community and well being."
But there's change afoot, a new study out of New York University's Furman Center suggests.
For now, renters are still in the minority in Philadelphia. In fact, a recent study found that Philadelphia had one of the worst rental markets, for Millennials in particular, based on median rental rates and average household income for that demographic. But, the Furman Center's data suggest that this probably won't be the case for too much longer. Via Citified's Patrick Kerkstra:
In fact, Philadelphia's rental population grew 28 percent between 2006 and 2013, the biggest gain of all 11 cities the Furman Center examined. Logically enough, Philadelphia's rental vacancy rate plummeted by six percentage points over the same period. And why may this be? Well, it's partly because #Millennials. Like, of course.
Kerkstra continues:
· Philly apparently among worst cities for Millennial renters [Curbed Philly]
· America is so over homeownership [Salon]
· Urban homeownership is dying away [Citified]