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Transformations in today’s U.S. rental market reflect changing economic and market forces. These dynamic times present challenges and opportunities for property managers and landlords seeking more stability and consistency in their property occupancies. The real estate industry responded positively to the Federal Reserve's recent announcement to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point, marking a favorable shift from previous actions that kept rates steady. However, uncertainty lingers about the extent and pace of changes in the residential real estate market, including the rental and buying sectors. Experts remain optimistic, predicting improvements as the market heads into next year's busy season. Landlords and property managers looking to attract more stable renters need to understand macro- and micro-market trends, renter demographics and preferences, and other information impacting their specific locales. Experian Housing published its 2024 report on the U.S. rental market, which provides data-driven insights into the current rental landscape. Experts examined today’s renter population, current market trends, the state of housing development, and the market’s future. Who is today’s renter? Today’s renter is still navigating financial constraints and potential marketplace affordability challenges. While location-specific information does influence the affordability of renting versus buying a home, on average, affordability remains an important factor guiding consumer decision-making. Our latest rental report highlights a notable shift in the rental market, with a growing number of younger renters and a decline in the average annual income among renters. According to Experian’s RentBureau®1, over 30% of renters are Generation Z—the youngest adult demographic. Expanding this to include individuals under 34 years old, younger renters now represent over half of all renters in the United States. Experian’s research highlights a shift in rental spending trends, showing the average income for renters now at $52,600. RentBureau data underscores the evolving financial landscape, with rent-to-income (RTI) ratios reflecting a growing commitment to housing. On average, individuals allocate 44.1% of their income to rent, while low-to-moderate-income households dedicate 52.5%. These figures exceed the traditional guideline of keeping rent within 30% of gross monthly income, underscoring the significant economic pressures faced by renters, particularly those with low-to-moderate incomes, as they navigate rising housing costs and limited affordability in the current market. This reality highlights the urgent need for broader systemic solutions to address housing availability and affordability challenges. What is happening in the rental market? Rental market trends reflect several factors, including changes in renter demographics, interest rates, housing supply and demand, and the economy. Overall, vacancy rates have stayed relatively low, which has resulted in rising rent prices, although there are signs of flattening. With fewer housing options available, many renters stay put for longer, which also contributes to availability and affordability. More renters, over 50% of all renters (a 10% increase over May 2023), are paying $1,500 or more in monthly rent, and the nationwide average rent stands at $1,713. A regional look offers greater specific insights for landlords and property managers, which is critical for truly understanding the marketplace. In 2024, 43 of 50 states have RTI ratios above the suggested guideline of 30%. California has the highest median RTI at just over 46%, followed by Massachusetts, Florida, Washington, and New Jersey. Other states facing increasing RTI ratios include Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado, Texas, and Nevada. These high ratios negatively affect affordability. At the same time, Experian Housing research indicates that over 92% of renters hold a single lease over two years. Data also shows 6.7% of renters with two leases in 24 months and others moving three or more times in this timeframe. Older generations, surprisingly, are moving more now than in recent years. Where is development headed? High mortgage rates are constraining housing development, especially for affordable entry-level homes. Roughly 50% fewer starter homes are being built, and multifamily new construction also faces constraints. With that said, multi-family housing units already under construction are coming to market. These units are generally high-end, contributing to increased rental prices. The supply coming to the market is higher-priced due to greater construction costs across the board. Contributors to the rising costs include builds in pricier metropolitan areas as well as features and modern amenities sought after by younger renters. The U.S. Census Bureau reports a slight uptick in new home construction since July 2023. How is the future looking? The U.S. economy is expected to remain stable, which should benefit renters and landlords alike. The outlook for the rental market in 2024 and 2025 remains optimistic with inflation down and the Fed rate cut, but many other factors come into play, specifically, overall economic health and the state of the employment market. For renters, the best tact is to set goals to improve their overall credit profiles and opportunities in the housing market. Individuals benefit from rent reporting. Experian RentBureau helps renters build credit profiles and open the best opportunities for the rental market and moving to the first-time homebuyer market. With rental housing still in high demand, property managers and landlords should focus on tenant screening, rent reporting, and fraud prevention as part of their risk management strategies. Focusing on these areas will increase the chances of finding quality, longer-term tenants. To learn more about the state of the U.S. rental market, download Experian Housing’s 2024 rental report. Access report 1 RentBureau® is the largest rental payment database that contains more than 36 million renter profiles. While RentBureau doesn’t represent the total U.S. rental market population, internal studies reveal RentBureau data aligns closely to historical U.S. Census data studies, which provides confidence in the deeper understandings aggregated in the report.

In today’s digital landscape, where data breaches and cyberattacks are rampant, businesses face increasing security challenges. One of the most prevalent threats is credential stuffing—a cyberattack in which malicious actors use stolen username and password combinations to gain unauthorized access to user accounts. As more personal and financial data gets leaked or sold on the dark web, these attacks become more sophisticated, and the consequences for businesses and consumers alike can be devastating.But there are ways to proactively fight credential stuffing attacks and protect your organization and customers. Solutions like our identity protection services and behavioral analytics capabilities powered by NeuroID, a part of Experian, are helping businesses prevent fraud and ensure a safer user experience. What is credential stuffing? Credential stuffing is based on the simple premise that many people reuse the same login credentials across multiple sites and platforms. Once cybercriminals can access a data breach, they can try these stolen usernames and passwords across many other sites, hoping that users have reused the same credentials elsewhere. This form of attack is highly automated, leveraging botnets to test vast numbers of combinations in a short amount of time. If an attacker succeeds, they can steal sensitive information, access financial accounts, or carry out fraudulent activities. While these attacks are not new, they have become more effective with the proliferation of stolen data from breaches and the increased use of automated tools. Traditional security methods—such as requiring complex passwords or multi-factor authentication (MFA)—are useful but not enough to prevent credential stuffing fully. How we can help protect against credential stuffing We offer comprehensive fraud prevention tools and multi-factor authentication solutions to help you identify and mitigate credential stuffing threats. We use advanced identity verification and fraud detection technology to help businesses assess and authenticate user identities in real-time. Our platform integrates with existing authentication and risk management solutions to provide layered protection against credential stuffing, phishing attacks, and other forms of identity-based fraud. Another key element in our offering is behavioral analytics, which goes beyond traditional methods of fraud detection by focusing on users' data entry patterns and interactions. NeuroID and Experian partner to combat credential stuffing We recently acquired NeuroID, a company specializing in behavioral analytics for fraud detection, to take the Experian digital identity and fraud platform to the next level.  Advanced behavioral analytics is a game-changer for preventing credential-stuffing attacks. While biometrics track characteristics, behavioral analytics track distinct actions. For example, with behavioral analytics, every time a person inputs information, clicks in a box, edits a field, and even hovers over something before clicking on it or adding the information to it, those actions are tracked. However, unlike biometrics, this data isn’t used to connect to a single identity. Instead, it’s information businesses can use to learn more about the experience and the intentions of someone on the site. NeuroID and Experian’s paired fraud detection capabilities offer several distinct advantages in preventing credential stuffing attacks: Real-time threat detection: Analyze thousands of behavioral signals in real-time to detect user behavior that suggests bots, fraud rings, credential stuffing attempts, or any number of other cybercriminal attack strategies.  Fraud risk scoring: Based on behavioral patterns, assign a fraud risk score to each user session. High-risk sessions can trigger additional authentication steps, such as CAPTCHA or step-up authentication, helping to stop credential stuffing before it occurs. Invisible to the user: Unlike traditional authentication methods, behavioral analytics work seamlessly in the background. Users do not need to take extra steps—such as answering additional security questions or entering one-time passwords. Adaptive and self-learning: As users interact with your website or app, our system continuously adapts to their unique behavior patterns. Over time, the system becomes even more effective at distinguishing between legitimate and malicious users without collecting any personally identifiable information (PII). Why behavioral data is critical in combating credential stuffing Credential stuffing attacks rely on the ability to mimic legitimate login attempts using stolen credentials. Behavioral analytics, however, can spot the subtle differences between human and bot behavior, even if the attacker has the correct credentials. By integrating behavioral analytics, you can: Prevent automated attacks: Bots often interact with websites in unnatural ways—speeding through form fields, using erratic mouse movements, or attempting logins from unusual or spoofed geographic locations. Behavioral analytics can flag these behaviors before an account is compromised. Detect account takeovers early: If a legitimate user’s account is taken over, behavioral analytics can detect the change in interactions. By monitoring behavior, businesses can detect account takeover attempts much earlier than traditional methods. Lower false positive rates: Traditional fraud prevention tools often rely on rigid rule-based systems that can block legitimate users, especially if their login patterns slightly differ from the norm. On the other hand, behavioral analytics analyzes a user's real-time behavioral data without relying on traditional static data such as passwords or personal information. This minimizes unnecessary flags on legitimate customers (while still detecting suspicious activity). Improve customer experience: Since behavioral analytics is invisible to users and requires no extra friction (like answering security questions), the login and transaction verification process is much smoother. Customers are not inconvenienced, and businesses can reduce the risk of fraud without annoying their users. The future of credential stuffing prevention Credential stuffing is a growing threat in today’s interconnected world, but with the right solutions, businesses can significantly reduce the risk of these attacks. By integrating our fraud prevention technologies and behavioral analytics capabilities, you can stay ahead of the curve in securing user identities and preventing unauthorized access. The key benefits of combining traditional identity verification methods with behavioral analytics are higher detection rates, reduced friction for legitimate users, and an enhanced user experience overall. In an era of increasingly sophisticated cybercrime, using data-driven behavioral insights to detect user riskiness is no longer just a luxury—it’s a necessity. Learn more Watch webinar

The credit card market is rapidly evolving, driven by technological advancements, economic volatility, and changing consumer behaviors. Our new 2025 State of Credit Card Report provides an in-depth analysis of the credit card landscape and strategy considerations for financial institutions. Findings include: Credit card debt reached an all-time high of $1.17 trillion in Q3 2024. About 19 million U.S. households were considered underbanked in 2023. Bot-led fraud attacks doubled from January to June 2024. Read the full report for critical insights and strategies to navigate a shifting market. Access report