The gap between renters moving — and homeowners staying — is widening in many of the country’s Southern cities.
In Port St. Lucie, Florida, renter mobility rose 8.6 percentage points between 2019 and 2024 while homeowner mobility fell 1.3 points, according to a PropertyShark analysis of Census data from 2019 through 2024 in the 100 most populous cities in the country. Similar patterns emerged across dozens of large U.S. cities as high mortgage rates and elevated home prices left more homeowners reluctant to give up low-rate mortgages.
Across the country, renters moved at nearly four times the rate as homeowners in 2024. In 41 of the 100 largest cities, renters moved more often compared to owners, whose mobility rate dropped. It was most pronounced in the South, which had some of the biggest changes in the mobility rates between renters and buyers.
The findings suggest that while migration into many Southern markets remains strong, the people arriving are increasingly renters. Elevated home prices and mortgage rates have made buying less attainable, while millions of existing homeowners remain reluctant to give up mortgages locked in at far lower rates.
“They’re still strong in terms of the cost of living, climate, job markets. … That’s really what’s driving it,” said Doug Ressler, senior analyst and manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix, PropertyShark’s sister company.
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, also had a large gap between renters’ and owners’ mobility rates. The average rent in the city was $1,278 and the median home was priced at $257,000, making it one of the more affordable cities PropertyShark analyzed. Still, homeowners were reluctant to give up low-rate mortgages, causing the city’s mobility rate to dip while its renter mobility rate soared.
It’s unlikely this trend, particularly in Southern markets, will abate any time soon. For instance, Florida could soon eliminate property taxes for most homeowners, and the Sunshine State is already one of a handful of states that does not tax income. Commuting times also tend to be shorter in many Southern markets, Ressler said.
Renting also remains a lot cheaper in many areas than buying, and landlords are giving up more to renters. Almost 40 percent of rentals on Zillow offered a concession this spring, a 5 percentage point increase year over year, according to the listings platform. Pre-pandemic, the figure was around 17 percent.
The markets with the greatest share of rental listings offering concessions are predominantly in the Sun Belt, though Denver, Colorado ranked No. 1, at 68 percent.
High home prices are also deterring many would-be buyers. In Port St. Lucie, for instance, the median sales price is $406,000. A 20 percent down payment on a property at that price point may not be feasible for many people, Ressler said. Compounding the affordability issue are high borrowing costs, as the Federal Reserve is unlikely to drop interest rates.
“It’s going to become more costly for homes in general,” Ressler said.