For rent: The American Dream

Observation:  Once upon a time, the idea of an American dream revolved around owning a home, a yard, and a white picket fence.  But a story in today’s USA Today suggests that the American dream is not purchased, but rented, for more and more American consumers.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:  Beyond impacting the way builders might design and sell their neighborhoods (selling to investors rather than individual owners), this issue could impact a lot of different categories, from home improvement to home furnishings and everything in between. 

But beyond the obvious categories, this phenomenon might even impact things like general retail (groceries and discount stores) and services (banks and dry cleaners).  After all, renters are generally more transient (they move more frequently) than owners… so the long-term relationships that might exist when customers are anchored by ownership could be impacted.  The marketing objective of attracting new customers might become more important than ever in markets where rental housing is significantly higher.

What other consequences can you think of in a world where more people are renting their American dream?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.