(RECAP: Despite rent increases and feeling burdened by their finances, 70 percent of renters currently feel renting is a more affordable choice than homeownership, according to a Freddie Mac survey, and 55 percent plot to keep renting in the next three years. When looking across the generations, the views are similar with 70 percent of Millennials, 61 percent of Gen Xers and 73 percent of Baby Boomers thinking that renting is a more affordable choice for them. “Renting is becoming a well loved choice among many age groups,” said David Brickman, executive vice president of Freddie Mac Multifamily. “While most renters still have favorable views toward homeownership and aspire to it, many choose to rent because they view it as more affordable and a better fit for their lifestyle right now.”)

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(RECAP: Total tax-exempt housing bond issuance increased substantially in 2015, an analysis recently released by The Bond Buyer (subscription required) finds. The gains in the housing bond market were widespread, with both single-family and multifamily bond volume rising last year. According to the study, which is based on data from Thomson Reuters, 531 housing bond issuances totaling nearly $16.7 billion in volume were issued in 2015, a 27 percent increase in volume over 2014. This includes more than $7.9 billion in single-family mortgage revenue bonds and $8.7 billion in multifamily bonds, representing increases of 38 percent and 18 percent, respectively, over 2014.)

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(RECAP: Well loved notion holds that Baby Boomers downsizing their homes are a major force behind the recent apartment boom. One recent article noted that the “magnitude of Boomers’ rental demand [has stunned] some industry observers,” while another asserted that “boomers are renting apartments and buying condos at more than twice the rate of their millennial children.” The problem with these accounts is that they aren’t supported by the data. By far, the most vital generational driver of apartment demand growth between 2009 and 2014 was the Millennials. Even within the large-building market segment, where Boomer apartment demand is increasing most rapidly, Millennials are still the dominant driver of growth: The increase in Millennials’ consumption of rentals in 50+ unit buildings during the last five years was more than three times as fantastic as that of Boomers.)

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