New York suburbanites are increasingly opting to rent their home rather than purchase it, waiting and seeing how economic conditions play out as the market softens.
Single-family home rentals have been growing over the past few years in New York's high-end suburban markets, reports The New York Times, and a recent quarterly report from William Pitt/Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty says that homes rented for $5,000 or more per month grew 33 percent in the first half of 2018, relative to 2015. William Pitt agent Kathleen Collins says other agents are more frequently asking whether her listed properties are available for rental, rather than for purchase.
Aimee Raupp-Temple and her husband, Ken Temple, rented instead of buying a house when they first moved from Brooklyn Heights to Westport, Conn., three years ago, because they weren’t sure they were ready to fully commit to the suburbs. “It was a big move — neither of us had ever lived in Connecticut,” said Ms. Raupp-Temple, 43, an author and acupuncturist. Renting, it turned out, gave them time to figure out that they loved Westport. And yet, when their lease was up earlier this year, they decided to rent again.
