The Most Expensive Renter-by-Choice Market Is …

As Frank Sinatra fans will affirm, if you can make it in New York, N.Y., you can make it anywhere. But if you can make the monthly rent payments, then you are residing in the most expensive renter-by-choice market in the nation.

According to data from HomeUnion, an Irvine, Calif.-based online real estate investment management firm, the Big Apple is—to borrow a Sinatra phrase—top of the heap in metro markets where more than 25 percent of the submarket’s real estate is rental stock and households have a median income in the 75th percentile. San Francisco followed New York in second place, followed by Northern New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Jose; San Diego; Boston Oakland and Orange County.

“Our list of the high-priced neighborhoods and submarkets for renters-by-choice indicates an ongoing shift in preferences among an affluent;

portion of the U.S. population,” said Steve Hovland, director of research for HomeUnion. “An increasing number of people are renters-by-choice, opting to live within walking distance or a short commute of their office building, workplace, university, community services or nightlife, instead of the suburbs. In other words, the American Dream of homeownership continues to fade, while renting by choice is an expanding reality for a large segment of the population.”