Welcome to the golden age for rich renters

It may not be an entire home, but there’s plenty to love about her one-bedroom unit — the vaulted ceilings, the “huge” walk-in closet, the natural light that spills through her windows. Outside her four walls, the chic collection of modern farmhouse buildings known as Livano Trinity offers a ton of perks: a sprawling gym, a pool with a cabana for weekend hangs, private office spaces, and even doggy day care. An on-site coffee shop serves up free daily brews to first-year tenants, while a New York-style bodega satisfies her late-night cravings.

The final kicker for Nations was the discount she got for signing: two months free. While she’ll pay $1,500 in rent most months, she paid only a $95 community fee plus utilities in May and June. In the meantime, she’s stashing away funds in case she decides to purchase a home down the line.

Buying a home has never been a cakewalk, but the hurdles to ownership seem more daunting than ever these days: The typical mortgage rate is hovering near a two-decade high, and there are still roughly 30% fewer homes on the market than in 2019. The median sale price reached a record $390,613 in May, according to Redfin. By contrast, a wave of apartment construction has flooded once hot markets with new studios and two-bedrooms, forcing property managers to extend olive branches if they want to lure tenants through their freshly installed doors. Step inside a newish building in places like Nashville, Salt Lake City, or Atlanta, and you’ll find leasing agents hawking discounts: Eight weeks free! No fees! Comped parking! That’s to say nothing of amenities such as boxing gyms, rooftop pools, and plush lounge rooms. Renters finally have some leverage — especially if they can afford the latest and greatest units.

These apartments aren’t cheap, sure, but they can feel like bargains compared with the costs of buying and maintaining a home right now. Household incomes have grown faster than rents over the past year, and tenants making more than the median income now benefit from more options thanks to the influx of new apartment units. Given the divergence, more and more Americans with a taste for the finer things in life and a little cash to spare are opting to rent.

Homeownership is synonymous with wealth in America — rich people live in the land of mortgage payments, not rent checks. This setup has an easy logic to it: Homeowners enjoy equity gains and a sense of stability that rentals simply can’t provide. But given the costs of breaking into the for-sale market, combined with the recent deals offered on many apartments, that assumption may be flipped on its head.

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