Our friends at SmartMove conducted research on younger renters and put together an infographic on the Anatomy of a Millennial Renter. The study discusses millennial renter’s values, priorities, characteristics and rental property preferences.
The study findings can be helpful for landlords who are renting to this generation. For instance, 60% of millennials chose to rent. They also generally prefer to move into apartment buildings. The majority of millennials surveyed cited rental property affordability as the primary reason for renting, likely due to financial constraints such as slow wage growth and large student debt. While deferring home-ownership until later, millennials are comfortable now with renting now because it appeals to their desire for flexibility and convenience.
The Pew institute cited that Millennials are the largest generation in America. FICO reported that millennials tend to have shorter credit histories and more delinquencies than other age groups. And, over 1/4th of millennials credit scored in the 300-579 score range. With so many millennials in the rental market, Landlords should continue to mitigate rental risks and exercise good tenant screening practices.
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