Younger Renters and Parents Sacrifice More to Make Rent

But it's older renters who are more often financially vulnerable and unable to cover an unforeseen $1,000 expense

- Two-thirds of renters make one or more financial sacrifices to afford their rent, and the share is higher for younger renters and those with debt.

- A quarter of renters say affording rent is difficult or very difficult, and about half say they would not be able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense.

- Parents more often make sacrifices than renters without children in the home.

News provided by

Zillow

Nov 14, 2019, 08:00 ET

SEATTLE, Nov. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As rents continue to steadily rise across the U.S., about a quarter of rentersⁱ say affording their rent payments is difficult or very difficult. To make ends meet, two-thirds of those renters make at least one financial sacrifice to afford their home, and half wouldn't be able to afford an unexpected $1,000 expense, according to the 2019 Zillow® Group Consumer Housing Trends Report.

Discretionary spending on leisure activities is the most likely to go – spending on entertainment was cut by 38% of renters, making it the top response. Supplementing income is the next most common course of action, especially for younger renters. A quarter of all renters pick up a second job or more hours at their current job.

With affordability challenges growing in much of the country – renters typically spend a larger share of their income on rent than they did a year ago in 28 of the 35 biggest markets in the U.S. – 42% of renters said that they ended up in a location outside of the area they initially considered. The most common reason was not being able to afford homes in their preferred neighborhood.

Younger renters more often make sacrifices than their older counterparts. Three-quarters of Generation Z renters and 69% of millennial renters make at least one sacrifice, higher than the 60% of Generation X renters and 53% of baby boomer and silent generation renters who report the same.

Renters who are burdened with debt are much more likely than those without debt to make at least one financial sacrifice – 73% of those with debt do so compared to half of those without. More than two-thirds of renters have some type of debt, including 32% with student debt, and about a quarter of renters say debt has caused them to be denied a rental agreement at some point.

"Renting a home in the U.S. is a tale of two renters," said Zillow Economist Kathryn Coursolle. "Renting provides an ideal lifestyle for many who value the freedom to move more easily as life changes and want to be free from the burden of maintenance responsibilities. But there's another group that wants to own a home and views renting as a temporary state until they can make the transition to homeownership. Amid the high home price growth of the past decade or so, saving for a down payment is a struggle for many renters that are making real sacrifices just to make rent each month, and in some cases are one minor setback away from falling behind."

About half of renters (49%) feel they are about maxed out financially and say they would not be able to afford an unexpected $1,000 expense, well above the 20% of homeowners who said the same. Renters report feeling more stretched as they get older – 62% of baby boomer and silent generation renters would not be able to afford this expense, while 40% of Gen Z and 46% of millennial renters would not be able to.

Parents with children in the home more often make sacrifices than renters without children. They are more likely to pick up additional work (28%), reduce monthly payments for technology services like a cell phone or cable plan (23%), and cut savings towards a down payment (13%), college savings (9%) or insurance coverage (7%).

Despite making more sacrifices than their peers in other age groups, only 18% of Gen Z renters say affording their rent is difficult or very difficult – around 30% of all other age groups say the same. This may be because 20% of Gen Z renters are helped with their rent by parents or another family member.

The 2019 Zillow Group Report on Consumer Housing Trends is the 4^th annual largest-ever survey of U.S. home buyers, sellers, owners and renters, and asked 13,000 U.S. household decision makers aged 18 and older about their homes – how they search for them, pay for them, maintain and improve them, and what aspirations and challenges drive their decision. Data from the full report is available for free to the public at www.zillow.com/report, and custom analyses are available to journalists by emailing [email protected].

Financial Sacrifice Buyers Made	All Renters	Generation Z (ages 18-24)	Millennials (ages 25- 39)	Generation X (ages 40-54)	Boomers + Silent Generation (ages 55+)
Picked up additional work	25%	30%	28%	22%	13%
Reduced or eliminated saving for retirement	11%	13%	12%	8%	10%
Added a roommate or subletter	5%	8%	5%	6%	3%
Postponed or cancelled upcoming vacation plans	16%	12%	16%	17%	18%
Postponed or cancelled upcoming health services	9%	8%	10%	8%	8%
Reduced or eliminated college savings	7%	10%	8%	5%	1%
Reduced or cancelled insurance coverage	6%	7%	7%	6%	5%
Reduced monthly payments or cancelled technology or communication services	20%	20%	22%	21%	16%
Reduced spending on entertainment	38%	37%	39%	36%	39%
Reduced or eliminated savings towards a down payment	12%	10%	14%	11%	8%
Made a different sacrifice	3%	3%	3%	3%	6%
Didn't make any sacrifices	34%	25%	31%	40%	47%

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ⁱ Renters refer to households that moved in the past year and rent their home.

SOURCE Zillow