Reality on Realty

When all the dust has settled in the housing market and the last at-risk home has finally fallen to foreclosure, the real estate market as we have known it will have changed.

And one of the biggest changes: renters will finally get a little respect.

Already the signs of a renting revolution are in the air. Last year, a survey by The National Apartment Association found that 67 percent of renters had no immediate plans to buy a home. In fact, according to the NAA, occupancy rates in rental housing last year saw the largest annual increase since 1965. There are now more rental housing units across the country then ever — about 34.7 million units sheltering about 83 million people.

“We’re seeing more dramatic growth in renters and a decline in the number of owners,” William C. Apgar, of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University told the Post Chronicle. “People are beginning to understand that homeownership can be a very risky venture.”

According to census data, about 67.8 percent of Americans owned their own homes in 2008, compared to a record high of 69.1 percent two years ago. Economists and housing experts predict that once we’ve pulled out of troubled economic times, only about 50 percent of us will own our own homes. In support of this prediction, census data showed that 32.3 percent of Americans were renting homes last year, up from 30.9 in 2005.

As more of us happily turn to lifetime renting, the experience of renting is likely to change dramatically.

Right now, according to Eric Belsky, the executive director of Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, America’s rental properties  are in a sad state — increasingly unaffordable, rundown, and concentrated in blighted neighborhoods. But as more Americans rent for longer and longer periods of time, they will no longer settle for second-rate product. Tomorrow’s renters will demand high-quality properties with the amenities and updates that they would expect of an owned home. Forget cheap carpets and formica countertops. More renters will rent in upscale neighborhoods, and more will expect the sorts of updates that are more common in owned homes — hardwood floors and granite countertops, for instance. More landlords may permit renovation and changes to their property, including painting walls colors and hanging pictures. Some renters may even seek longer-term Euro-style leases of three-to-five years, with the ability to bring their own modular kitchen along to their new digs. Expect new lease options and a much wider assortment of housing choices. Look for landlords to put a new priority on maintaining their properties in an effort to compete for better tenants who will be looking for better product.

In the very near future, renting may be a far more empowering and attractive experience than it is today.