After surveying 2000 US renters earlier this year, we discovered the American Dream is changing. No longer do you need to own a home to achieve it.

There’s a large portion of the population that are shifting their priorities away from home ownership and focusing on aspects of life that are more important to them like vacations and other experiences, flexibility (both financially and geographically), and saving for retirement. To those people, renting is a choice that better fits the goals they’re trying to accomplish than home ownership.

In a post-pandemic world, where remote work is available to many, renting has become more and more attractive. While there will always be a segment of the population that are renters by default due to their economic situation, a growing number of people are renting by choice, despite the financial ability to choose between renting and home ownership.

Individuals don’t want such a sizable amount of their wealth dedicated to obtaining and holding a mortgage. They want to live a lifestyle that is more flexible and less stressful than what home ownership would provide. For example, they would rather not have to deal with the costs and responsibilities that come with owning a home.

While today’s renter prioritizes flexibility, that doesn’t mean they’re averse to the idea of community. Renters still have the desire to be good neighbors, host friends and family, and value meeting and befriending new people at the communities they live in.

To give you a better understanding of what this new American dream means not only for renters, but for property owners, we compiled the results of this survey into the 2024 American Dream Survey Report that can be downloaded here.