Tenants aren't moving as often as they used to. According to U.S. Census data, Massachusetts renter mobility rates declined from 23.7% in 2014 to 18.9% in 2024, marking a continued decline in renter mobility seen each time the Census publishes data. The states with the highest renter mobility are Utah (30.8%), Colorado (29.2%), and Idaho (29.1%), while the states with the lowest are New York (13.4%), New Jersey (15.5%), and California (16.0%).
Several factors have likely contributed to the decline in tenant moves, most notably homeowners holding onto their properties longer due to today's elevated mortgage rates. Regardless of the exact reason, renters and homeowners alike face an evolving housing landscape and should be prepared for it.
In this article, TurboTenant explores why renters are staying put longer in Massachusetts, what low turnover means for homebuyers and tenants, how that affects renters' expectations and landlords' bottom lines, and what these trends mean for the housing market moving forward.
Both owners and renters are moving less
It isn't just tenants who are staying put. According to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, U.S. households changed addresses at a rate of 11.2% in 2024, the lowest figure on record in the American Community Survey. While that number might sound unremarkable, it's down about 25% from 2006, when moving rates were at 15%.
Writing up the 2024 numbers, Harvard housing analyst Riordan Frost warned that without fundamental changes in the housing market, "lower household mobility will become entrenched."
In fact, these trends are already gaining ground. According to a March 2026 Redfin report, in 2005, homeowners held onto their houses for a median of 6.5 years. Per the same report, that figure has nearly doubled, and now homeowners are staying in the same houses for a median of 12 years.
Let's get back to renters. A 2024 Redfin analysis found that a third of renters have been in the same home for five years or more, up from 28.4% 10 years earlier.
As things stand today, owners are selling less, first-time buyers face more hurdles, and renters simply stay in the same homes longer. While housing affordability is part of the problem, today's elevated mortgage rates also play an undeniable role.
Homeowners with cheap mortgages are reluctant to sell
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Freddie Mac put the 30-year average mortgage rate at 2.65% in the first week of January 2021. Nearly six years later, mortgage rates averaged 6.71% in the first week of September 2026. Some simple math shows that the figure has increased by more than 150%.
It's not hard to see why homeowners would rather keep their lower mortgage rates than buy a house now at an elevated rate. On a $400,000 home with 20% down, for example, the monthly principal-and-interest payment would jump from about $1,289 at 2.65% to about $2,067 at 6.71%. That's prohibitive for many.
As of the first quarter of 2026, 49.9% of outstanding U.S. mortgages carried rates of 4% or lower, while 77.9% had rates below 6%. For many homeowners, selling would mean giving up a low mortgage rate, taking on a much higher one, and willingly raising their monthly housing costs to new heights.
One result of this mortgage lock-in effect is continued pressure on home prices. From January 2022 to January 2026, active listings more than doubled nationwide, yet the national median list price still rose 8.1%, showing that more inventory alone hasn't been enough to bring prices down.
There are fewer first-time buyers, and they are older
Further, the housing shortage also disproportionately affects first-time buyers, who face stiff competition for a limited supply of affordable starter homes.
The National Association of Realtors reported that first-time buyers accounted for just 21% of the U.S. market in 2025, down 50% from 2007. In 2025, the median age of first-time homebuyers also reached 40. Both numbers are new records for the U.S.
Meanwhile, existing home sales totaled 4.06 million in 2024, the lowest annual total since 1995. As of July 2026, the market is on track to hit the same pace, meaning this isn't just a momentary slowdown or short-lived setback.
Would-be homebuyers still want to purchase houses, but for now, many renters remain sidelined indefinitely, and fewer expect to become homeowners than a decade ago.
Renters are staying put longer than they have in decades
The number of renter moves has plunged in recent years. Renter households that moved in the past year made up 18.3% of all renters in 2024, compared to 37.2% in 1981.
Redfin's analysis of 2023 Census data shows how long renters have been in their homes:
- Less than 1 year: 25.6%
- 1 to 4 years: 40.8%
- 5 to 9 years: 17%
- 10 years or more: 16.6%
Renters who have been in the same location for 5 years or more now outnumber those in their first year. Meanwhile, Massachusetts lease renewal has become the most common outcome in the U.S. apartment market. According to CBRE's 2026 outlook, renewed leases now account for 57% of all U.S. apartment leasing activity, up from 51% in 2015 and 48% in 2005.
Age also plays an important role in the trend. While renters aged 18 to 24 still moved at 38.0% in 2024, close to the 1981 moving rate for the entire renting population, renters aged 65 and older moved at only 7.8%. Older renters move at a fraction of the rate of younger renters.
Fewer renters expect to ever buy
In response, renter expectations have shifted alongside housing trends. Federal Reserve Bank of New York researchers tracked what renters believe about their own mobility from 2014 through 2026, finding major decreases in both expected mobility and the likelihood of ever owning a home.
The researchers found that a renter's average three-year moving probability (how likely a move is, rather than whether the renter has planned one) fell from roughly 57% in 2014 to about 37% in 2026. A homeowner's average three-year moving probability also dropped over the same 12 years, from roughly 21% to about 14%.
Renters' expectations about the mortgage market also track closely with their moving expectations. Renters who expect a difficult time securing a mortgage reported an average three-year moving probability of 42%, compared to 66% among renters who expect it to be very easy.
Of course, expectations surrounding mortgage rates have also shifted. Surveyed renters expected a lender to quote them a median of 3.3% in 2021 and nearly 6.8% in 2024. Over a similar period, the average renter put their odds of ever owning a home at roughly 52% in 2015, down to about 35% by 2025.
While mortgage rates undoubtedly influence how renters think about moving, today's renters are also less likely to expect to move or to achieve eventual homeownership than they were a decade ago.
Who saves money when renters stay put
While a lack of mobility poses tangible challenges for would-be homebuyers and many tenants, landlords stand to benefit. With low turnover rates, landlords don't have to manage vacancies, cleaning, painting, repairs between tenants, or extra rental marketing.
As lease renewals rise across the country, many landlords will undoubtedly avoid these turnover costs. And it goes both ways. Tenants who renew their leases can avoid paying application fees, security deposits, and moving costs, which is part of why renewing can cost less than moving, even after a rent increase.
Additionally, renters staying put longer can provide landlords with more stability in an otherwise challenging rental market. A March 2026 survey from TurboTenant identified several ongoing trends among independent U.S. landlords:
- Rental demand either held steady or improved over the survey period, with 81% reporting demand that stayed the same or increased year over year.
- Rent prices mostly stayed flat. Forty-four percent of landlords reported not increasing rent, and most of those who did raised it by less than 5%.
- Costs went up. About 75% of landlords reported higher operating costs, but most absorbed them rather than passing them on to tenants.
- Roughly a third of landlords plan to buy new property anyway, with 30% saying they plan to acquire more property, while nearly 60% plan to stick with their current investments.
All told, the survey results show a rental market that's holding fairly steady, even as landlords face higher costs. This reality makes finding long-term tenants even more valuable, as every renewal can mean one less vacancy to fill, one less turnover to manage, and fewer out-of-pocket costs while units sit empty.
The housing market needs homeowners to start selling again
The scarcity of affordable starter homes can make lease renewal more attractive, and many homeowners are reluctant to sell because replacing low-rate mortgages can be costly. Meanwhile, first-time homebuyers have gotten older and now hold a record-low share of the market.
For now, there's no telling when mortgage rates will fall enough to materially change the housing market. In the meantime, would-be buyers can start preparing by learning more about real estate investing, buying a first rental property, and what it takes to become a landlord.
If homeowner mobility remains low and affordability remains strained, renters may stay put longer. While this may be good news for landlords, who can more easily retain high-quality tenants, it can also make the path to homeownership an even tougher uphill battle for renters across the country.
This story was produced by TurboTenant and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
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