Percent of renters among old Americans has grown big

Governing -From 2007 to 2017, there was a 43 percent increase in renters over the age of 60, according to a new report from Rent Cafe, a nationwide apartment listing service. As a result, the median age of renters ticked up from 36.7 years old to 38.1. Meanwhile, renting is near a 50-year high, with 36.6 percent of Americans doing it, according to the Pew Research Center.

The causes behind the rise in older renters are both demographic and economic, explains Mark Trekson, research associate for the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute.

Many senior renters, he says, are baby boomers who never purchased a home. Others are people who lost their homes in the Great Recession and have not bought again. The economic downturn also impacted seniors' retirement decisions.

For those who could move, larger cities are proving to be attractive.

“As people get older, their needs change,” Trekson says. “If you are in a split-level home or a multi-level house, you might want to move to a place with an elevator and amenities in walking distance.”