Hat tip to JP for sending this along, from USAToday.com:

In the aftermath of the nation’s housing-market collapse and recession, more than 500 midsize and large cities have seen a rise in the share of homes that are rented rather than owned, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Census data.

Nationally, 34.9% of occupied homes were rented in 2010 compared with 33.8% in 2000, according to Census data.

Almost 4 million homes have been lost to foreclosures in the past five years, turning many former owner-occupied homes into rentals.

The shift to rental housing is potentially long-lasting and portends changes for neighborhood stability and how people build wealth, economists say.

“The changes are big but glacial,” says Mark Zandi, economist at Moody’s Analytics.

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Percentages of homes rented in SD cities with at least 50,000 people:

Local City % Rentals Diff from 2000
Carlsbad
35.2%
2.5%
El Cajon
58.7%
-0.7%
Encinitas
36.9%
1.1%
Escondido
47.8%
1.0%
Oceanside
40.9%
3.0%
San Diego
51.7%
1.3%
San Marcos
37.2%
3.2%
Vista
48.2%
2.4%

I’m not sure if 1-3% change over ten years equals big changes, but hey, Zandi said it!

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