Renters looking for a better deal may need to rethink the kind of properties they’re focused on in their search. 

As of January, median single-family home rent prices are up about 41% since before the pandemic, according to a recent report by Zillow. Meanwhile, multi-family rents are up 26% in the same timeframe.

A construction boom of multi-family buildings helped rein in rent prices for apartment units in the U.S., prompting some economists to dub 2025 as a “renter’s market.”

But single-family rentals did not see that same level of construction, keeping the available supply low.  Single-family rent growth also remains strong amid high demand, as high mortgage rates keep would-be buyers out of the for-sale market, Zillow noted in the report.

Multi-family housing often includes many units or separated dwellings within the same building, whereas a single-family rental is often in the form of a detached house.

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The typical asking rent price for a single-family home in January was $2,179, up 0.3% from a month prior, and up 4.4% from a year ago, Zillow found. Meanwhile, the typical asking rent for a property in a multifamily home was $1,820, up 0.2% from a month ago and up 2.7% from a year prior.

The gap between the costs to rent a single-family home versus a unit in a multi-family apartment is the largest difference Zillow has recorded since it began tracking the metrics in 2015.

But while there’s a lack of single-family rentals compared to multi-family properties, “demographics play a huge role here,” said Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.

If you can’t afford to buy a home yet, but need the space, here’s what the high cost of single-family rental housing means for you. 

The typical first-time homebuyer in the U.S. is now 38 years old, an all-time high, according to a 2024 report by NAR.

“Renters are stuck renting for longer,” said Orphe Divounguy, an economist at Zillow. 

This means many people are staying renters for longer. Zillow found in a separate 2024 report that the median age of renters in the U.S. is 42, and millennials make up about 31% of renters in the U.S. In Zillow’s analysis, millennials were those age 30 to 44 at the time of the survey.

As homeownership has become “so unaffordable and out of reach,” the cohort has had to find bigger rental properties to accommodate major life changes, such as getting married, and having kids or pets.

The appeal of single-family rentals, experts say, is a homeownership experience without the same costs. That can be meaningful for buyers who are faced with affordability challenges in the for-sale market. Coming up with the down payment can be a hurdle, as well as navigating volatile mortgage rates and rising home prices.

The median sale price for homes nationwide was $375,475 in the four weeks ending February 16, up 3.7% from a year prior, according to Redfin.

Meanwhile, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage inched down to 6.87% the week ending Feb. 13, per Freddie Mac data. That’s the lowest so far in the year, and down from the latest peak of 7.04% in January.

Paying down debt can help improve your debt-to-income ratio, which measures your debt repayment obligations relative to your income.

When landlords look at your financials, it helps them gauge how easily you can afford the rent based on your current income.

This measure is even more important for renters looking into single-family rental properties, Divounguy said. If you plan to buy a home in the future, keeping this in check will increase your chances of having an approved mortgage application.

Overall, stay on top of your bills and make sure to keep tabs of your credit reports from the major bureaus to ensure there are no errors that could be problematic when you apply. Having a solid credit history makes you more competitive as a renter, and it can also set you up for success if you ever look at the for-sale market, experts say. 

As lawmakers in Washington, D.C., work to rein in government spending, some advocates and consumers are concerned that Social Security could see cuts.

Congress faces a March 14 deadline to extend funding for the federal government in order to avoid a government shutdown. Meanwhile, the Trump administration had hoped to slash $2 trillion in government spending.

Because Social Security accounts for 21% of the budget, or $1.5 trillion in spending in 2024, there are concerns that the program could be a target.

Here’s what experts are keeping a watchful eye on with regard to Social Security in the upcoming negotiations.

Last year, the Republican Study Committee, a large group of House Republicans, released a budget proposal to cut federal spending by $17.1 trillion over 10 years.

That included a proposal to raise the Social Security retirement age to 69. Currently, retirees are eligible for the full benefits they’ve earned at age 66 to 67, depending on their date of birth.

With that change, anyone born after 1971 would see their benefit cuts an average of 13%, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Importantly, no changes can be made to Social Security benefits in upcoming budget reconciliation legislation, due to the Byrd Rule. That law prevents the addition of extraneous provisions, according to Maria Freese, senior legislative representative at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

But a proposal to raise the retirement age came up during last-minute Senate negotiations over the Social Security Fairness Act in December, and could come up again, experts say.

“Any opportunity that they [Congress] have, I could see it coming up,” Freese said. “They just can’t put it in reconciliation.”

For his part, President Donald Trump said he is opposed to cutting Social Security, except for any waste, fraud or abuse of the program.

Budget limitations put in place over the past decade have already put a strain on the agency’s customer service, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes in recent research. Social Security Administration staff dropped by 11% between 2010 and 2024, while the number of beneficiaries increased by 24% over that time, according to the research.

“Cuts that worsen the underfunding of SSA would further compromise its ability to provide the customer service that beneficiaries deserve,” the research states.

Without additional funding, it may take the agency more time to implement the Social Security Fairness Act, a new law that provides benefit increases to more than 3 million beneficiaries, experts have said.

“Congress has consistently and repeatedly underfunded that agency,” Freese said.

That has left the agency more susceptible to criticism, particularly with recent scrutiny of beneficiaries over age 100, she said.

“Part of what is among the first things to go are upgrades to computer systems and things that are considered non essential,” Freese added.

There’s a lesser-known tax break for low- to moderate-income Americans who save for retirement. However, most eligible taxpayers don’t claim it, experts say.

The retirement savings contributions credit, or saver’s credit, helps offset funds added to an individual retirement account, 401(k) plan or another workplace plan. The tax break is worth up to $1,000 per filer.

It’s not too late if you didn’t make a qualifying contribution last year. There’s still time to make IRA deposits before April 15 to claim the credit on 2024 returns.

However, “the saver’s credit is a well-kept secret,” Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies said in a February report. 

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Only about half of U.S. workers know about the saver’s credit, according to a survey from Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, which polled more than 10,000 U.S. adults in September and October. 

That percentage drops to 44% among taxpayers with a household income of less than $50,000. 

“Awareness of the credit is very low across the board,” but it’s even lower among taxpayers who could qualify to use it, said Emerson Sprick, associate director for the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Economic Policy Program.

To that point, roughly 5.8% of returns claimed the saver’s credit in 2022, according to a the most recent IRS data. The average credit value that year was $194, according to a Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies analysis.

There are income phase-outs to claim 50%, 20% or 10% of your contribution, depending on your filing status and adjusted gross income. You can use an IRS tool to see if you’re eligible. 

For 2024, your adjusted gross income can’t exceed $23,000 for single filers or $46,000 for married couples for the 50% credit. The percentages drop to 20% and 10%, respectively, as earnings increase, with a complete phase-out above $38,250 for individuals or $76,500 for joint filers.

That’s part of the motivation for the “saver’s match” enacted via Secure 2.0, which will replace the saver’s credit in 2027 and deposit money directly into taxpayers accounts, he said.

“Everyone hopes that it’s going to be easier,” Sprick said. But “there are a lot of logistics that remain to be worked out.”