The number of households in the USA increased 0.8% year over year to 45.4m in Q4 2024, the slowest growth since the first quarter of 2023 according to Redfin.

The number of homeowner households rose 0.8% to 86.9m marking the first time in over a year that the number of renter and homeowner households are increasing at the same rate. Prior to this, the number of renter households had been growing faster for four-straight quarters.

Daryl Fairweather, Redfin chief economist, said: “Owning a home used to be the crux of the American dream, and while many still consider it a rite of passage, a lot of people are opting to rent for longer because they can’t afford to buy a place of their own.

“Even people who can afford to buy homes are choosing leases over mortgages, often because they want a flexible, low-maintenance lifestyle, or want to invest their money somewhere other than real estate. Affluent renters have become more common in nearly three-quarters of major metros since 2019.”

Home prices are more than 40% above pre-pandemic levels, while rent prices are roughly 20% above pre-pandemic levels.

In New York, 51.9% of households rented in the fourth quarter—the highest share among the 75 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Next came Los Angeles (51.5%), Albany, NY (48.4%), Fresno, CA (48.3%) and San Francisco (46.2%).