The Rise Of The “Forever Renter” And What This Means For The Market

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The biggest shift in the property market is a growing number of people who could buy, deciding not to. For a hundred years, the property industry has run on one assumption: renting is a waiting room, ownership is the destination. That assumption no longer holds.

TheC clearest evidence is in how renters describe their own choice. Entrata's April 2026 survey of over 2,000 US renters found 81% now call renting the smarter financial move — up from 72% among Gen Z a year earlier — and 71% say the American Dream itself is evolving. That's not the language of people settling. It's the language of people redefining what winning looks like.

It would be easy to file this under the usual "priced out" story. Yes, affordability explains why someone can't buy; it doesn't explain why a wealthy individual, or a dual-income professional couple with a healthy deposit sitting in savings, chooses to keep renting anyway. That is a preference, not a constraint and this is what the market is built around.

What makes this different from every "generation rent" story before it is who is choosing it: young professionals renting for the flexibility to move for work; wealthy households keeping capital liquid rather than locking it into one asset; internationally mobile executives who need to relocate on six weeks' notice, not sixteen. RentCafe's analysis of US Census data found millionaire renter households grew 204% between 2019 and 2023, to nearly 13,700 — outpacing the 169% growth in millionaire homeowners over the same period.

The intent data confirms it from the other direction. Rently's 2026 Renting by Generation Report found mortgage plans among renters have fallen from roughly 15% to just 6.4% in a year, and a third of millennial and Gen Z non-owners now say they may never buy — not out of despair, but as a settled plan. In the UK, the House of Commons Library found 59% of 35-to-54-year-olds are unsure whether they'll ever own — a cohort that, a generation ago, would already be two or three houses into ownership.

Capital has read this correctly, even where the industry has been slower to build for it. UK build-to-rent investment hit a record £5.3 billion in 2025; Q1 2026 alone brought in £795 million, the strongest first quarter since 2022, with full-year volumes forecast at £5.7 billion. Occupancy sits near 97%, and rental premiums have nearly doubled since 2016. Institutional money doesn't move at that pace toward something it expects to be temporary, and it isn't moving toward the bottom of the market — it's moving toward the buildings, cities and price points where forever renters actually want to live.

For agents, developers and operators, the implication is simple: a market built to sell people out of renting can't also be the market that serves them well inside it. Buildings need to be run, staffed and designed as though the tenant intends to stay — because increasingly, they do. That means service standards, amenity design and lease flexibility built for years of tenancy, not for the few months before a deposit clears. Relationships that used to end at completion now need to extend across years of renewal and relocation. Firms that treat this as a smaller version of the old business will lose the client to whoever treats it as the real one.

This isn't about people giving up on a home. It's about the definition of home changing, permanently, for a meaningful share of the market, at every income level. The winners of the next decade won't be the ones still using renting as a rehearsal for ownership. They'll be the ones built for people who intend to rent well.

Article: By Mohamed Mussa, Managing Director, Chestertons Global

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Feb 24

2 min read

The UK Agri-Tech Centre has announced new access to fast-track support for UK agri-tech start-ups and scale-ups as it sets out its priorities and focus to accelerate their commercial success.

At a reception at the House of Lords on 3 February 2026, incoming CEO Steve McLean, who joins the UK Agri-Tech Centre from his position as Marks & Spencer’s Head of Agriculture & Fisheries Sourcing, outlined plans to build a vibrant UK agri-tech sector that boosts agricultural resilience and sustainability.

The move will provide critical de-risking for investors by ensuring technologies are market-ready, fit for purpose and commercially viable.

The UK Agri-Tech Centre will deliver this through access to resources that allow ventures to test, validate and demonstrate their ideas, proof-of-concept, and return on investment in real-world commercial and farming environments.

By brokering strong industry and supply chain connections focused on driving adoption at scale, the UK Agri-Tech Centre helps bring the best of UK agri-tech innovation to commercial application.

Steve McLean, CEO, UK Agri-Tech Centre comments:

“As we enter a new technological era driven by data, automation, robotics and AI, the agri-tech sector is poised for growth. The recognition of agri-tech as a Frontier Sector in the Government’s 10-year Modern Industrial Strategy elevates its importance across the economy, and sets our context and our purpose."

“Our goal is clear: to make the UK one of the world’s most successful environments for agri-tech innovation, attracting and growing the most capable, impactful ventures."

“We will support the agri-tech sector in achieving its full potential by accelerating the commercialisation and scale-up of UK agri-tech ventures, by enabling access to advice, connection and capabilities. Our role in supporting agri-tech ventures on their growth path will support them in achieving commercial success with viable businesses."

“Combining my commercial background from one of the UK’s largest retailers with experience from across the entire agri value chain consolidates our strategic position in supporting ventures in this high potential sector.”

The UK Agri-Tech Centre has, to date, supported more than 300 agri-tech businesses across the UK with a clear plan to provide business support, test, trial and demonstration capabilities, and wider agri-tech sector support to address barriers to innovation, investment challenges and scaling internationally.

This support will focus on priority technologies in the Government’s 10-year Modern Industrial Strategy: robotics and automation; advanced sensors; data and AI; controlled environment agriculture and engineering biology.

The House of Lords reception is a highlight of the UK Agri-Tech Centre’s Growth Week, designed to help agri-tech ventures tackle barriers to growth, and showcase the success stories of the businesses supported by the UK Agri-Tech Centre.

Exciting opportunities for agri-tech ventures launching in February include an Agri-Tech Solution Sprint – which is focused on providing one-to-one support to overcome technical and commercial challenges, and a Global Growth Accelerator – helping UK ventures scale by validating their technology in international markets, starting with New Zealand.

For more information visit UK Agri-Tech Centre.

Photo:

(L-R) Ellie Abbiss, Events Officer, Grace O'Gorman, External Affairs Director, Steve McLean, CEO, Helen Brookes, Engagement Director, and Paige Boardman, National Exhibition and Events Manager at the House of Lords during Growth Week.

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The Rise Of The “Forever Renter” And What This Means For The Market

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