Market Research Points to a Renter Crisis in the Near Future

The United States is still in a heated battle with the coronavirus. While the federal government and the common people struggle to continue living while also social distancing, many are still working from home, furlough, or living off of unemployment. 

For many on the lower end of the financial spectrum, rent is among the biggest monthly expenses and cause for much-unwanted stress. 

Zillow research has found that 69% of the median renter household’s income comes from essential workers-- those that spend much of their work environment face-to-face with customers. When it comes to black workers in those same jobs, they contribute 72% of household income compared to 53% in white households. 

Low-income housing takes up much of the rental business. When a crisis such as this zaps many of those households of their income, the financial blow is much more serious, especially for those who are not only low-income, but are minorities as well. This leads to a spike in vacancies for multi-family housing and those renting out their homes as part of their own income. 

Add the current movement of those looking to leave densely populated areas for rural living because of the virus and cities are seeing a possible mass exodus in the coming months or years. 

Redfin has run its own research, showing a record 27.4% of Redfin.com users looking to move to another metro area in the second quarter. This is up 25.2% in the second quarter year-over-year. 

For months data has been pointing towards this outcome. With the recent Redfin record and the worries cities are experiencing over this, a market climate shift is in the near future as it all comes to a head.