Millionaire NYC renters are growing faster than homeowners nearly tripling since 2020

They can afford multimillion-dollar mansions, but a growing number of wealthy New Yorkers would rather hand over a rent check than pick up a set of house keys.The New York City metro area is now home to more millionaire renters than anywhere else in the country, with the number of households earning at least $1 million annually and choosing to rent nearly tripling since 2020, according to a October report from RentCafe.And while the ultra-rich still overwhelmingly favor homeownership, the region’s affluent renters are multiplying faster than their property-owning counterparts — suggesting that even for those with seven-figure incomes, buying a home isn’t necessarily the ultimate goal.The Big Apple and its surrounding suburbs now boast 7,296 millionaire renter households, a staggering 167% increase from 2,730 in 2020, the report found.That’s nearly four times the 1,863 millionaire renter households in second-place San Francisco — and more than the next 10 largest metro markets combined.New York also holds the crown for millionaire homeowners, with 33,134 households earning at least $1 million annually and owning their homes, up 131% from 14,339 in 2020.Together, that puts the metro area’s total millionaire household count at a whopping 40,430, the largest in the nation.Still, the numbers show that renting is gaining ground among the wealthy.Roughly four out of five millionaire households in the New York metro area own their homes, but the number of wealthy renters has grown more quickly than the number of owners over the same period.And these renters aren’t necessarily sacrificing the American dream because they can’t afford to buy.The trend is already playing out at the very top of Manhattan’s housing market, where luxury rents have climbed as high as $100,000 a month and beyond.Some wealthy New Yorkers who could afford multimillion-dollar trophy homes are opting to lease instead, drawn by flexibility, turnkey living and the ability to avoid the re...