Zillow Reports $441 Billion Paid In Rent For 2014, Rents Continue To Increase

Zillow Inc. Z reported Tuesday that “Americans shelled out $20.6 billion more in rent in 2014 compared to 2013.

“Cumulatively, U.S. renters paid $441 billion in rent in 2014 compared to $420 billion last year, an increase of nearly five percent (4.9 percent), as both the number of renting households and the average rent rose nationally.”

"Over the past fourteen years, rents have grown at twice the pace of income due to weak income growth, burgeoning rental demand, and insufficient growth in the supply of rental housing. This has created real opportunities for rental housing owners and investors, but has also been a bitter pill to swallow for tenants, particularly those on an entry-level salary and those would-be buyers struggling to save for a down payment on a home of their own," said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries. "Next year, we expect rents to rise even faster than home values, meaning that another increase in total rent paid similar to that seen this year isn't out of the question. In fact, it's probable."

The Blackstone Group L.P. BX is one of the largest renters of single family homes through its Invitation Homes subsidiary and has acquired over 44,000 homes in the United States.

American Homes 4 Rent AMH owns and rents more than 30,000 single family homes and went public in 2013.

Equity Residential EQR owns more than 120,000 rental apartment units.

AvalonBay Communities Inc AVB owns more than 52,000 rental apartment units
 

The best performing of the above stocks over the past year have been AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential, both are up over 40 percent.