ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

Zillow Launches Individual Rooms Across US Cities As Rents Remain High

This feature is available across the country but is popular in bigger cities like Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Boston. 
PUBLISHED FEB 9, 2024
Cover Image  Source: Zillow launches new feature (representative image) | Getty Images | Smith Collection
Cover Image Source: Zillow launches new feature (representative image) | Getty Images | Smith Collection

While inflation is down from its peak, most Americans are still looking at price hikes and steep rents across the country. With home prices and rents still very high, Americans seek ways to lower their monthly expenses. On Thursday's rental marketplace, Zillow announced that they now offer options to search for individual room listings, per USA Today. A beta testing mode for the feature was first launched in certain markets in November 2023. Currently, there are 10,000 single-room listings on the platform. 

"(The room feature is) a way for us to expand the affordable selection to our renters, in addition to providing more optionality for landlords and homeowners, potentially, to help offset mortgage costs," said Lily Ferguson, the senior product manager at Zillow who was behind the room for rent launch.



 

Many even understand that finding roommates is not as easy as it sounds. It takes a bit of time. David Smith, a 33-year-old based in New York City, said that he has risked paying double his $1,000 monthly share of the rent after failing to get roommates on time. "It's a stressful process, especially when months are remaining in the lease. That’s something that I couldn't afford to cover on my own,” he said. “So you need somebody, but you don't want it to be just anybody," he told USA Today.

In 2019, about one-third (32.2%) of U.S. adults lived in "shared households" which had at least one adult resident. The figure also includes adult children living with parents and adult roommates, not counting those aged 18 to 24. However, since then rents have become even more expensive. A report from Zillow says that the income required to comfortably spend 30% of income on rent for the median renter is now up by 40.6% since pre-pandemic. 

 Michele Eve Sandberg | Getty Images
Michele Eve Sandberg | Getty Images

"Affordability continues to be a challenge," Ferguson said. It was also seen that adding roommates can help make mortgage payments more affordable. To look for roommates, you have to use the feature "Room" under the “Home Type” drop-down chart. You can look for a room in a single-family rental, or condominium depending on your budget, lifestyle as well and location. This feature is available across the country but is popular in bigger cities like Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Boston. "You're going to see a larger cluster of rooms in those major metropolitan areas where affordability continues to be a challenge," Ferguson said.

In May 2022, median monthly rent in the US surpassed $2,000 for the first time. This is a 15% year-over-year increase, as per Redfin. Two of the major reasons affecting the rent are inflation as well as supply and demand. A shifting workplace is contributing to higher rents. 



 

"We are frustrated, we thought that home prices would be a much bigger contributor to the downward movement of inflation,” Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James told Fortune. As mentioned, experts say that nobody should be spending more than 30% on rent and if they do, they are less likely to spend on healthy food and medical care. As per reports, more than 21 million U.S. households spend more than 30% of this income on rent.

According to Nerd Wallet, more income is now required for rent. The median person must make close to $79,264 to afford rent. As per the publication, the highest rent increase in the country was seen in Cincinnati (+7.1%), Providence (+7.1%), Milwaukee (8.7% ), Jacksonville (-0.8%), and more.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The round was filled with hilarious answers that cracked the host up often.
16 hours ago
The contestant was super excited to have made it to the Bonus Round and he won big.
18 hours ago
Corey Harrison was interested for a bit but that price immediately made him say no.
19 hours ago
Drew Carey tried making a bet with the contestant but she was not having it.
1 day ago
Steve Harvey was left stunned by the answer and had to question the entire family.
1 day ago
Steve Harey forced the contestants hiding to come out and address the situation.
2 days ago
Rick Harrison were creeped out by the handcuffs but still wanted to buy them.
2 days ago
Cuban was interested in the tech side of the company but was annoyed when his doubts got no answers.
2 days ago
She had already won more than $21,000 and a trip to Portugal before heading to the round.
3 days ago
The contestant even apologized to Steve Harvey after her answer was called out.
3 days ago
The host urged fans not to laugh at the answer, as it might come back to bite them in the future.
3 days ago
The seller lacked any solid proof and as a result, nobody on the show wanted to offer him a deal.
4 days ago
The contestant wished that bars gave free alcohol to those already drunk out of their minds.
4 days ago
It would have been easy for Amy Schneider to respond harshly to the accusations, but she remained cool and collected.
4 days ago
The host was left shocked after hearing the answer as he mouthed "wow" a couple of times.
4 days ago
The contestant went on to win $20,000 for her family despite the awkward moment.
5 days ago
The entrepreneurs might have hoped that a third of their company would attract a shark, but it didn't.
5 days ago
She was just happy to be on the show and was not disappointed about leaving empty-handed.
5 days ago
Things got heated as all of the sharks took shots at each other for a chance to cut a deal.
5 days ago
The entrepreneur was selling a DVD set about men's grooming, which was priced at a whopping $297.
6 days ago