Pub. 4 2019 Issue 1

10 www.ctaahq.org Starting-Out Singles The biggest group identified, the “Starting-Out Singles” cluster, made up 29 percent of the renter base examined. On average, these were the youngest renters profiled, at 26 years old. With limited incomes and high rent-to-income ratios, the Starting Out Singles move around quite a bit, choosing smaller apartments in Class B and C properties, usually in the suburbs. Only a small slice of this group gravitates toward Class C units in the urban core. Big metros heavy in Starting Out Singles include Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, San Jose and San Diego. Among the smaller metros, heavy concentrations of the youngest renters are in Salinas, Calif.; Des Moines, Iowa; Colorado Springs, Baton Rouge, La.; and Montgomery, Ala. Young Adult Roommates Like the Starting-Out Singles, those in the “Young Adult Roommates” group – renters around age 28 in households with two or more adults – also like to move around. The Young Adult Roommates, which comprise 21 percent of the households studied, have the shortest length of stay among all groups. They tend to live in higher-end suburbs or the urban core, typically opting for Class A or B+ product. Though the individual income level in this group is com- parable to those in the Starting Out Singles, Young Adult Roommates take advantage of combined incomes and opt for pricier units. These households are most common in San Jose, where 41 percent (double the national average) of the South Bay Area’s apartment renter households are Young Adult Roommates. Also garnering a large share of these renters are San Diego, Orange County, San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles, some of the country’s most expensive apartment markets. Smaller markets where Young Adult Roommate households are prevalent are Ventura County, Salinas and Colorado Springs. Perma-Renters Despite accounting for a moderate share of the renter base (16 percent), “Perma-Renters” are perhaps the industry’s most overlooked households. These residents, on average, are in their early 40s, single and always renew their expiring leases at least once. They have moderate annual incomes around $50,000, which allow them to afford Class B units in the suburbs without much of a strain on their budgets. Because these renters don’t move around as much as the younger crowd, their propensity to renew leases offers a valuable component to an apartment rent roll. Not surprisingly, this renter base frequently lives in metros where Class B apartments tend to perform especially well, with large concentrations in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Dallas and Houston. Middle-Income Boomers Middle-Income Boomers represent 11 percent of all renter households. While some of the affluent Baby Boomers are busy downsizing to luxury urban core areas, this more promi- nent slice of the Boomer rental population is not. Middle-Income Boomers report more modest incomes, pos- sibly because many of them are drawing on retirement savings for day-to-day expenses. They are mostly single-person house- holds and are 62 years old, on average. Though a handful of these renters extend into the urban core, this group tends to live in small units, usually in Class B or C product in the suburbs. Among all renter segments, this group has the highest pro- pensity to renew expiring leases. Middle-Income Boomers