According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University 2016 State of the Nation’s Housing Report:

Rental demand for housing should remain strong for at least the next decade.

In total about 36 percent of US households live in rentals representing nearly 110 million people.

The inability of supply to keep pace with the rapid rise in demand has led to the longest period of rental market tightening since the late 1960s. Starting in late 2010, the national rental vacancy rate fell for five consecutive years.

The number of renters increased by over 9 million over the past decade, the largest 10-year gain on record.

The pace of Household growth is on the rise. Over the next 10 years, the millennial generation (born 1985-2004) is expected to form 2 million new households per year, increasing the total number of millennial-headed households from 16 million in 2015 to a projected 40 million in 2025.

In 18 of the nation’s 25 largest markets, annual rent increases in middle tier (Class B assets) outstripped those in the upper tier (Class A assets).