Over the past two years, households that earned $50,000 or more annually and had the means to join the ranks of home owners or continue owning the roofs over their heads represented the fastest growing segment of the rental market, according to the National Multi-Housing Council.

"These are people who could have bought but choose not to," NMHC's Kim Duty reported at the National Association of Real Estate Editors' annual conference late last month in New Orleans. "Their older, more affluent and better educated, but they choose renting for the lifestyle, not economic reasons."

As Duty sees it, "the pendulum is swinging back" to the early 1900s when apartment living was considered chic. "Changing demographics, evolving lifestyles, new public policy initiatives and changes in the apartment industry are all working together to increase apartment demand," she told the meeting.

Over the next decade, according to NMHC's research, the two fastest growing age groups are two of the most likely to select apartment housing people in their mid 20s and empty-nesters in their 50s.

After more than 20 years of declining numbers, the population in the traditional renting years (age 20-29) is expected to increase by 11 percent over the next decade. During the same period, moreover, the number of people in the 45 to 74-year-old age bracket will swell by 20 million, and these are folks who exhibit a much greater proclivity to rent than the counterparts in previous generations.

Duty, the apartment group's vice president of communications, also said the fastest growing portion of newly formed households going forward will be childless couples, singles living alone and unrelated households, all of whom have a higher propensity to rent than to buy.

She cited "three key reasons" these and other households choose to rent:

Published: July 7, 2000

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