San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
RVS and boats can be rental options
lumbia, big complexes hold 55% of all renters, followed by Minnesota at 45% and New York and North Dakota at 44%.
The lows were found in Mississippi at 9%, then Arkansas and Alaska at 10%.
Details
So where do the roughly three-quarters of California renters reside if not in big apartment complexes?
Mid-sized:
The most popular properties with two to 19 units. They’re home to 2.1 million households, No. 1 in the nation and 12% of 17.8 million such tenants in the US. Next
was Texas and New York at 1.5 million.
And while these midsized properties hold 36% of Golden State renters — the top niche — these modest rental sites are far more popular elsewhere. California’s share ranks
14th-lowest and runs below the 39% national average.
Top spots for 2-to-19unit properties? Massachusetts at 58% of all rentals, then Rhode Island at 57%, and Vermont at 55%. Lows? Hawaii at 28%, then Minnesota at 29% and
North Dakota and Arizona at 31%.
Single-family: California’s renter households in one-unit properties are also a larger group than those living in the big complexes.
These one-unit residences
— detached and attached — are home to 2 million California renter households, No. 1 among the states and 15% of 14.2 million in the US. Next was Texas at 1.3 million, and Florida at 897,000.
This equals 34% of Golden State renters, the No. 29 share and above the 31% national average.
Top shares for singleunit rentals were found in Oklahoma at 48%, then Hawaii and Mississippi at 45%. Lows were in DC at 11%, then New York at 12% and Massachusetts at 14%.
Others: And don’t forget rental options that are primarily mobile homes, but also RVS and boats.
California has 128,500 households in this category, No. 4 among the states and 7% of 1.8 million in the US. The top 3 were found in Texas at 171,000, Florida at 160,000 and North Carolina at 158,500.
This “other” group represents 2% of Golden State renters, the 12thlowest share among the states and half the 4% rate nationally.
Top shares? South
Carolina at 16%, then West Virginia at 13%, and New Mexico and Mississippi at 12%. Lows? DC and Rhode Island have almost none.
Bottom line
Owners of larger apartment complexes, typically big institutional investors, control a small and perhaps influential slice of the rental market.
But remember, these landlords tend to cater to higher-income renters. These pricing trends often only explain what wellheeled renters are willing to pay.
More modest-sized properties are primarily owned by smaller investors who don’t necessarily manage their properties in similar manners. These landlords, with their lesser-paid renters, tend to value tenant retention over income maximization. So their rents are known to increase relatively gradually.