Zillow analysis finds about 270,000 fewer homes are sold each year compared to 2006, owing to the rentals.
Builder
The number of single-family homes that are rented grew by 5 million between 2006 and early 2017, according to a new analysis out Wednesday from Zillow. This boom in rentals, which are mostly concentrated in the lower end of the housing market, contributed to the crunch in affordable inventory, limiting options for lower- and middle-income buyers.
In total, about 270,000 fewer homes are sold each year compared to 2006, or about 5 percent of the homes that would sell in a typical year, according to the Zillow® analysis. About 120,000 of these lost sales were among the most affordable homes that are often sought by first-time buyers.
