Renters ought to target this kind of home for a better deal

If you’re looking to rent a house instead of an apartment, you might be in for a price shock. The cost of renting a single-family home has skyrocketed, outpacing the rise in apartment rents and leaving many tenants stuck in limbo. According to a recent Zillow report, median rent prices for single-family homes have jumped 41% since the pre-pandemic days, while multi-family units have seen a comparatively modest 26% increase in the same period. That’s in part due to a building boom that has flooded the market with new apartment complexes, leading some economists to label 2025 a “renter’s market.” But single-family rental homes? Not so much.A lack of new construction means supply remains tight, and with mortgage rates still high, would-be buyers are staying put in the rental market, driving demand even higher. Zillow’s data shows the price gap between single-family rentals and apartments is wider than ever since tracking began in 2015.Single-family home rent in January averaged $2,179 (up 4.4% from last year) while multi-family rent in January averaged $1,820 (up 2.7% from last year).That difference — about $359 per month — is making a tough decision even harder for renters who want the space of a house but can’t afford to buy one. And while high mortgage rates are a major factor, demographics also play a big role.For millennials — those born between 1981 and 1996 — homeownership is increasingly slipping out of reach. First-time homebuyers in the US now average 38 years old — an all-time high, according to a 2024 report by the National Association of Realtors. And with fewer millennials able to buy, more of them are turning to single-family rentals as a temporary solution — but at a premium. “Renters are stuck renting for longer,” Orphe Divounguy, an economist at Zillow, told CNBC. Zillow’s data shows that the median age of renters is now 42, with millennials making up about 31% of all renters.

It’s not just a financial squ...