The wealth divide between those who rent versus those who own a home has never been greater, CNN reports.
The median renter has a net worth of $10,400, but the median homeowner’s net worth is $400,000, according to the Aspen Institute. That means that a homeowner typically is worth 40 times the average renter.
The reason why is landlords tend to jack up rents as soon as a lease is renewed, while homeowners’ home values and equity continue to build. Since the pandemic, home prices have surged across the country, with the median existing home price reaching $407,200 in October.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.6% last week, according to Freddie Mac, and with wholesale inflation at nearly 5%, experts now believe the Federal Reserve will tamp down its rate cuts. That’s bad news for people looking to buy a home or to move.
“Our rent was getting raised every year,” says Elizabeth Grantham, who moved from pricey San Francisco to an hour outside Seattle in order to save up to buy a home. “Even the cost of the parking space at our apartment complex went up. Then eventually you move, and soon that rent starts to rise. That’s how it’s gone for most of my adult life.”
Katherine Lucas McKay, associate director at the Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program, said she was shocked by the findings of the report, which “really drives home just how far ahead homeowners are in wealth.”
At every income quartile renters — who comprise more than one-third of U.S. households — have less cash flow, more debt and fewer savings than homeowners. This may be why nearly 80% of homeowners own other assets that appreciate, such as retirement accounts, stocks, bonds, cryptocurrency, or other real estate.
“Homeownership itself is a major generator of wealth,” McKay notes. “Just by not owning a home, there are ways that your wealth simply does not grow. Instead, you put more money into housing every year in rent, and someone else benefits from the value going up.”
On top of this, homeowners are rewarded with tax breaks and incentives, notes Shane Phillips, a researcher at the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies.
“We do a lot to incentivize home ownership,” Phillips explains. “We give big tax breaks on your mortgage, the sale of your home, and things of that natures. Current conditions make it harder for people who don’t already own homes or already have considerable wealth to get on that housing ladder.”
There is a glimmer of good news for renters, however. Rents dipped in November and a record 38.6% of landlords offered at least one concession on new leases last month. One million multifamily units are expected to be available on the market through 2025.